Mass Effect 3: Eclipse on Rannoch
by forthary
Summary: The adventures of Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya Vas Normandy and Shepard after the events of the citadel at the end of the reaper war.
1. Introduction

**Mass Effect 3: Eclipse at Rannoch**

* * *

The great war is over.

Commander Shepard's injuries were grave. After what he went through, after all that he saw, it was catastrophic. Many of the alliance's forces perished in the great battle; some died quickly, others perished horribly. All gave their lives for the greater good of the galaxy. When the war ended, Commander Shepard and his allies were braught to a military hospital on earth named Loretta hospital. Most of them merely needed serious medical attention, but for a select few - Commander Shepard included - intensive care gave only a slim chance at beginning recovery.

This story begins with a flashback in Commander Shepard's mind about the final moments during the Reaper Battle onboard the Citidel. Before the final battle, Commander Shepard and his squad safely entered the citidel; the beam seen during the run sequence in Mass Effect 3 has a much larger radius than one sees, and thus explains how they got on safely. During the extremely fast cycle of the transport, harbinger attempted to indoctrinate Shepard, but successfully resisted. He was unconscious for 10 minutes after the resist attempt, but during this time, the ground forces on earth, along with the main squad aboard the normandy, succesfully teleported into the citidel using that beam. Commander Shepard then got back up, took his squad and opened the citidel after finding the main controls. The crucible docked, and Shepard was able to use the console on the citidel to prepare the crucible to wipe out the reapers. His final stand against the reapers then took place.


	2. Prologue

"Come on Shepard, your not dead yet!" Yelled James, as he helped the commander up.

A wave of reaper forces, led with the Illusive Man in the background, was attacking Shepard in the background. All of Shepard's allies from the Normandy as well as several alliance battalions clashed against the wave of legendary reaper forces. The whole arm of the citadel Shepard was fighting on was full of reaper forces, as far as the eye can see. On top of that, several reaper ships were battling overhead with allied forces, bombarding the area with spaceborne debris. Shepard's squad was divided into several teams as they attempted to ward off the reaper attack and defeat some of the key personnel there, which consisted of Shepard's enemies and former allies, brought back by horrible reaper methods. Thane, Kai Leng, Udina, and several other formidable enemies were present.

Shepard fired a barrage of heat sinks with his N7 Hurricane as a group of marauders advanced towards them. Garrus sniped a few with his Black Widow, while Tali finished off the rest with her Geth Shotgun. As Shepard quickly scanned the battlefield for survivors, suddenly something caught his eye: Kai Leng flanked their position and stabbed James through his chest! Shepard immediately reacted with a concussive shot that merely stumbled him, but Garrus took advantage of this by firing a shot through his head, disabling his advanced reaper barriers. Tali fired a charged shot off of her Geth Shotgun, but had to reload. Shepard took advantage of the small time window by pulling out a Garaal Spike Thrower and finishing Kai Leng off with a shot at his chest. He fell onto the battleground, the red glow of the reaper's machines fading from his eyes.

But James! Shepard ordered his squad to move to his position, but came under heavy reaper fire. He was out of medi-gel reserves, and had to work to his position, least he bled out and die. Tali provided close range fire with her shotgun and used her combat drone to distract some of the reapers, while Garrus overloaded the shields on a nearby maraduer to take him out with a headshot. Shepard grabbed his hand, and dragged him into a trench, losing his shields in the process. Shepard successfully stabalized James and got him up again. "Your not going out on me that fast, James!" exclaimed Shepard. The reaper fire suddenly became intense, as Garrus lost his shields and took a few hits. Shepard ran out of heat sinks for his N7 Hurricane and switched to his M-96 Mattock as he loaded incindenary ammo into it. James laid down some suppressing fire with his Phaeston, but even with Shepard's firepower, it was not enough. The reaper forces were advancing. The other fire teams lead by Shepard were also getting overwhelmed. He kept firing, heat sink after heat sink landing on the enemy, but they kept creeping closer. This might be it.

Then, without warning, Tali exclaims,

"Look out!"

As a reaper ship crashed nearby them, plowing everything out of it's way. Shepard wanted to escape, but was pinned down by reaper fire. Facing no other choice, he screamed, "CHARRRRGE!" as his squad got out of the trench and charged at the reaper forces, trying to escape the crashing reaper ship. While the reaper forces were slightly thinned out by Shepard's surprise charge, it was but a scratch to them, as they continued firing. Everyone lost shields and took a few hits. But they were close to evading the reaper. Just a short sprint to freedom. To a new hope. But then...

Darkness overcame all of them. The reaper ship collided with all of them, and sent them flying.

As Shepard faded in and out of consciousness, his hearing was deaf. He saw a few reaper forces, but they did not fire. They moved on to other areas where the alliance was still battling. Shepard looked around to see Tali by his side, with James and Garrus not too far away. At the same time, he also saw a sight that chilled his blood; the Illusive Man and Thane were moving in, the Illusive Man equipped with a M-3 Predator. Shepard stared at Thane's glowing red eyes as he heard the hum of indoctrination; he wanted to get up and fight, but he couldn't. He could barely move his arms, let alone get up. The Illusive Man and Thane looked at the bodies around them as they advanced towards Shepard and his squadmates.

"This is the end," He thought. Everything that Shepard worked so hard to achieve was now coming to an end. The Illusive man was going to shoot them all in the head and undo all of their work. The Illusive Man eyed James, who was the closest to him. As James attempted to get up, not aware of the approach of the Illusive Man, the Illusive Man pointed the M-3 Predator at his head and shot him, killing him instantly. His face was now a cold stare looking at Shepard. He then approached Garrus, and after a short walk, pointed his handgun at him.

*JIIIIING*

The Illusive Man and Thane flew back. A electrical surge from the crucible ripped the floor apart! His eyes opened wide at the sight of it. Perhaps they were dead. As his head tilted back at Tali at his relief of the indoctrination hum fading away, he thought he saw them getting up. But a more interesting sight caught his attention that confirmed what he saw.

Tali slid her arc pistol towards shepard, letting him take the chance at stopping the reaper forces from disabiling the crucible. He pointed the weapon at the illusive man's head, charged it up, and as soon as the Illusive man locked eyes with Shepard, released the trigger and blew his entire head off. The indoctrinated Thane quickly turned around to see what happened, but Shepard quickly stunned him by firing four shots at him, after which he charged the weapon halfway and released the trigger, shooting a hole in his chest. The indoctrinated Thane fell down to the ground, the glowing eyes of the reaper technology embedded in him fading away, signaling his death.

The greatest indoctrinated leader of the reaper force along with a key figure died before Shepard's eyes. As he lowered his arc pistol, he heard Tali say, "We did it Shepard. We stopped them." as she reassured Shepard of their victory. Shepard's vision began to fade as the energy build-up in the crucible began to increase. "Did I really succeed?" Shepard thought to himself, "Or is this merely the end for all of the galaxy, and their deaths won't do a damn thing?" Shepard's breathing slowly ceased, as did his vision. More and more, white energy build-ups and explosions rocked the citadel. A shadow that came across him terminated his vision.

Suddenly, Shepard began hearing voices. Was he dead? Or was he being indoctrinated again?

"We need another gel-pack, his life signs are unstable!"'

"Activating the on-board revival unit!"

*Bzzzzt*


	3. Chapter 1: Broken Steps

Suddenly, Shepard's vision flooded with light. Not the light of being dead, or the light of being indoctrinated, but being in a hospital. Shepard was in deep pain. It appears he was being taken somewhere, but he wasn't sure. The doctors were around them, attempting to stabilize Shepard and finding ways to give him hope at a future. Other doctors ran around him as they attended to whatever urgent matters they had to attend to.

"He's alive, his vital signs are beginning to stabilize!"

"He's not going to make it though unless we increase his metabolic activity in this area, get me an adrenaline shot!"

"Yes sir!"

"Shepard, you'll be ok son. Just lay still and keep calm. We'll get you through this."

"His pulse just went up, he's bleeding out more!"

"Well keep at it, the more time we buy, the better!"

Then, a familiar voice rang out to Shepard:

"Shepard, hang in there please! You came this far for me already, I don't want to lose you here!"

"Tali?"

Suddenly the scene changed. He was no longer in deep pain, but rather, he felt ok. Not great, but much better than before. It seems as if Shepard said "Tali?" not when he was in pain, but in the present. Shepard looked around. He was in a hospital bed, white sheets covering his battered body. It appears that he was in a fresh set of alliance clothing; it felt a bit loose, but it was comfortable otherwise. Shepard was hooked up to machines that monitored his vital signs and dispensed medicine when needed. The hospital itself was in great condition; he looked outside and there also was not as much rubble as he thought he would see. The sun shined a nice hue of orange into Shepard's hospital room.

As he looked around more, he noticed next to his nightstand some flowers, balloons and some cards. The first card that caught his attention was a purple one, decorated with flowers and other pretty decorations with the words, "To my grateful husband." Was this from Tali? Of course it had to be, who else could it be from? He opened up the card and it:

_Shepard,_

_I hope you get to read this. It has been a long time since that day. Things have gotten bad, but I believe they are starting to get better. Whatever we did, it destroyed the reapers, as well as the husks and other forces they had. Unfortunately, it also destroyed the only Mass Relay we had in this solar system, so getting help in cleaning up after our mess has been difficult. _

_But that's not what I'm worried about, Shepard. I'm worried about you. I've visited you each day for the past 3 weeks, only to look into your eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. I've asked the doctors about if you'll pull through, and they don't have a clear answer. Some say it'll take a while, others aren't even sure if you'll break out of whatever your I know is that I want you back, Shepard. I'm not sure if you can see me whenever I visit you, but if you do, you'll know that I still hold onto every last ounce of hope I have for you. _

_Please Shepard, if you come out of whatever your in, contact me as soon as you can. There's quite a bit I need to fill you in on, and one card alone won't do it. I love you. I still do even in this hard time. And I always will. _

_Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya Vas Normandy_

Shepard smiled, holding back a tear knowing that he might have to save it. He looked on the back of the card and noticed some numbers: '162.75'. This must have been what Tali was talking about; to contact her by omni-tool as soon as Shepard came back. Unfortunately, Shepard did not have his omni-tool on him, but noticed that there was one built into the hospital bed. He activated the tool and dialed into Tali's frequency.

"Hello?"

"Tali? It's me!"

"Shepard! Oh keelah, Shepard..."

"Tali, it's good to hear your voice again. I got your message on your card. Where are you?"

"I'm doing a little bit of clean-up work with some of the quarian forces here. Let me take care of one thing real quick and ill let you know when i'm on my way."

"Ok."

Shepard could hear Tali talking in the background about excusing herself as she had other 'important' matters to attend to.

"Ok Shepard, i'm on my way."

"I can't wait to see you."

"Neither can I, Shepard. Tali out."

Shepard looked over at the rest of the cards quickly. Garrus, Joker, Liara and Admiral Hackett left him cards to look at. Shepard grabbed Garrus's card, which was a simple white card with the words, "Sorry your feeling down." on the front. He opened it up and read:

_Shepard,_

_I hope you make it out of this one alive, period. After all, id hate for you to come back paralyzed up to your neck. We gave the reapers a hell of a fight, and we won. I'm glad this damn war is over, we lost a lot of good people everywhere, even here. I wish I had more to say but all I can tell you is that if you die on me, ill never be able to have a rematch with you at our next shooting contest. Oh, and you wont make too many people happy. Take all the time you need to get better, I don't think we'll be leaving this solar system for a long time._

_Garrus_

_P.S.: Tali insisted that I get you the card. I didn't want to get the wrong end of the shotgun._

Shepard smiled as he looked at Admiral Hackett's plain card with a alliance symbol on the front. He opened it up and read:

_Shepard,_

_Whatever you did on the citadel has defeated the reapers once and for all. I'm getting reports from all over the galaxy that not only have the reapers ceased to function, but so have the husks and other mobile forces they had. You did a hell of a good job out there. I'm proud of you, and so is the whole damn alliance._

_I just wanted to let you know that I honestly hope to god you come out of this alive and well. A lot of people are worried about whether or not you'll come back alive. But I think our main problem we face right now is cleaning up the mess this war has left behind. When you activated the crucible to destroy the reapers, it not only overloaded our own Mass Relay, it destroyed it. The other Mass Relays were overloaded, but they were all intact, and thanks to some basic knowledge about the relays, we were able to reactivate the ones we had. We're still trying to figure out a way to get people out of our solar system, but until then, a lot of our forces are stuck here. We're not sure what we're going to do Shepard, and if we don't act soon, the peace you created may not last long. I hope that we can reestablish routes with the rest of the galaxy and keep the peace going for as long as we can._

_Whenever you feel well enough, let one of the nurses here know so I can get in contact with you. There's a lot to discuss on the table, and I feel it is best for you to take it slowly, one day at a time._

_Admiral Steven Hackett_

_Alliance Navy_

As Shepard finished reading Hackett's card, he was about to read Joker's card when something caught his attention. Tali was standing in the doorway, her hands interlocked and staring at Shepard. She slowly walked into the room as Shepard looked at her.

"I'm glad your alive Shepard. I got here as soon as I could." Shepard sensed that Tali was holding back a few tears under her helmet.'

"Tali. It's so damn good to see you again. I...I wasn't too sure if..." Shepard sat up, ready to embrace Tali as she closed and locked the door to Shepard's hospital room as she wanted a moment of privacy with him. "I was going to make it."

"I know. But your here now, and your alive. That's what matters the most." Tali said, nearly crying as she said those words. Shepard caught wind of her reaction.

"Hey, hey. It's ok Tali. I'm with you now. Come here."

Tali approached Shepard and slid into his lap as they embraced each other heartfully. Tali sniffed as she fought back some of the tears she had underneath her helmet. While they hugged each other tightly for 2 minutes, it felt like a eternity to them. Shepard was in a slight bit of pain from hugging Tali tightly, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. After embracing each other for so long, Shepard motioned his hand to Tali's helmet, wondering if she would let him take it off. She took her hand in his and pulled slightly towards her, indicating so. Shepard unmasked Tali, wiped a few of her tears she had away, and kissed each other softly. As Shepard and Tali drew their last kiss, Tali sighed in relief and closed her eyes as all of the stress she had built up in her body was purged away in this sanctuary of hers. No evil thought, no person, nothing was going to ruin their experience at all. They had each other once again after being away for so long. This was their moment to share with each other.

"Thanks, Shepard. For coming back, for being with me, and for this."

"Your welcome Tali, I appreciate it."

"I know there's a lot of questions you want to ask, and ill do my best to answer them."

"How long have I been out?"

"Id say about a month. It's been a long, long time."

"And you visited me every day. I didn't remember it, unfortunately, but I appreciate it, even if my mind wasn't there."

"Whenever I had some downtime, I would visit you here in the hospital. I left you the flowers that you see on the nightstand. Garrus got the balloons."

"Well that was nice of him. You didn't have anything to do with that now, did you?"

"Ha! That he got on his own. I had nothing to do with it. We both got the supplies at the store in the hospital here."

"I see. So what's been happening out there Tali? I think we won, sounds like the reapers aren't terrorizing us anymore."

"Well, after the crucible fired, the reapers and all of their forces were wiped out everywhere. But unfortunately, the mass relay here in this solar system was destroyed. Some of the ships have attempted to FTL drive to the nearest Mass Relay, but we haven't heard back from them yet. I don't think it was a good idea for them anyways, they probably ran out of fuel, even with extended reserves. From what I understand, the salarians are trying to move one of the Mass Relays into the network and launch it over here to where this system's relay once was. They think it'll work if they modify the system's launch coordinates, and our research data has also agreed with this."

"Are you sure your right?"

"Positive. From what we know about the relay system, it should work."

"Well, that gives us time, I suppose. What about the crew?"

"James is dead, Shepard. I'm sorry. There was nothing the doctors can do for them. I was pretty lucky compared to some of the others; Garrus was in here for a week to treat some broken bones, blood loss and a few other serious injuries. My right leg had a fracture and I had a few suit punctures that caused some infections due to the environment. Liara and Ashley had worse injuries than Garrus; im not sure what happened but they were in there for 2 weeks before they got let out. I wasn't even sure if Liara would make it because she flatlined a few times in front of the doctors. Javik didn't need any treatment."

"What about the citadel?"

"The citadel was destroyed in the blast. The fleet of ships has done its best to contain the giant debris from falling into earth. Some of the pieces crash landed here but nothing major to worry about."

"This will shake things up in the galaxy. I guess though we can rebuild our own giant space station though; one without the damn reapers in the way."

"And one that is unified. I hope that our people can have a embassy on the council now that the reapers are gone."

"Will you be the ambassador to the quarian people?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure though Shepard, it's a lot to think about. As a Admiral, I have a range of powers that I can use to help my own people and others around me. But im not sure if I'm ready to be an ambassador."

"I guess so."

"How have your people been faring the whole deal since they arrived on earth?"

"Like anyone else, we've taken casualties. A lot of the ships that were destroyed were the ones that were barely holding on anyways. When we were rescuing the survivors on the life pods, we found that about 80% of the people who took the life pods survived, which isn't too bad considering what we went through. Our supplies for food, water and other supplies should last us long enough for the Mass Relay to get here, and we've been negotiating with the Turians for supplies as well."

"I bet your people can't wait to get back to Rannoch and begin setting down."

"A lot of the other fleets are also anxious to get back to their homeworlds and help repair the damage caused by this stupid war. When we realized the Mass Relay was destroyed, we were worried that all of the fleets you recruited might get worried and begin another war, but so far, we've kept the peace. And with the promise of a new Mass Relay, I think its been easier lately to keep people happy."

"Did you lose anything important during our final battle on earth?"

"All of the admirals are alive, and some of the more important ships are still floating in space. Unfortunately, the Rayya was shot down in orbit on earth. We lost some people onboard, but most everyone survived."

"I'm sorry about the Rayya. I guess we've all lost some of our important things in this war. Do you know where it crash landed?"

"Yes, it crash landed in a jungle environment, somewhere right here." Tali activated her omni-tool and projected a display of where the Rayya crashed. It appeared to be located on the continent Africa near the western coast.

"I wonder what kind of conditions the ruins are in?"

"I'm not sure. I wouldn't expect much though."

"I remember back when the normandy was shot down by a collector ship, there were quite a few things intact on the surface. The Mako, some of the major sections on the ship, there were quite a few sections intact. I'm not sure how the quarian ships would fare, though."

"I took a look at the ruins of the normandy when we were in orbit once. I guess it braught back a few memories for me too."

"So, what were your doing earlier when I contacted you?"

"Mostly clean-up and recovery efforts. I was helping with finding survivors and clearing the area of rubble. The whole area around the hospital was a mess when you arrived. Now, it looks much better than it did before."

"I imagine that everywhere on earth, you could see nothing but rubble and charred ruins all around the area."

"I think that a few pockets of land on earth were untouched by the reaper forces, but its not much. Maybe a few plains they didn't scorch or a tiny town here and there, but that's about it."

"I'm surprised that you helped out with the recovery efforts, especially with your injuries."

"I already told you Shepard, you gave me back my homeworld. I would do whatever it took to get you back yours."

"That's true. I would have done the same for you if this was your homeworld."

"I know. It's not just my homeworld Shepard; it's yours as well."

"By the way, Rannoch really isn't as hot as it states on the codec, is it?"

"The data on your codec is quite inaccurate. We've taken data from the Geth regarding surface temperatures and compared them to a few other planets; It's slightly warmer than earth, but cooler than Sur'Kesh and just about as hot as Tuchanka. You won't have to worry about dying of heat just by stepping outside, though it still is fairly hot."

"Well, it's good to know I won't have to wear nothing but my underwear just to survive the heat."

Tali giggled at Shepard's thought, "Well, you may have to if its a really hot day."

"I hope I can get a few more pairs of Alliance underwear. Only the best."

"Oh Shepard, your getting carried away," Tali exclaimed.

"I wonder what our future holds for us, Tali."

"Well, I just hope that this stupid war is finally over and that we can finally live in peace. Well, im not sure about the latter; now that we have our homeworld back, we'll have a lot to do with settling in, finding homes and giving the geth their rights."

"It sounds like a tough job. But if there's anyone who can help settle the quarians in and help them fight, its you."

"I couldn't have done any of this without you Shepard; negotiating peace with the geth, becoming a admiral, all of the courage I had to do these things was from you. Nobody else could have given me the inspiration otherwise."

"Still looking forward to building that house on the beach?"

"Totally. It'll be interesting living in a home instead of a starship now. I'm not sure what to think of it."

"Well, you'll just have to wait until we build it. It shouldn't take long, if the geth help us."

"Just try not to bring the house crashing down as you build it; I know how you are with blowing stuff up."

"Hey, I'll try not to blow the house up Tali. But I make no promises. You know how things can spontaneously explode around me."

"If you blow up the house, you'll be sleeping in the normandy from now on. By yourself."

"Alright, ill make more of an effort not to blow up the house!"

"That's better. Have you thought of anything...beyond that, Shepard?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's stuff that people do once they've known each other for a real long time." Tali put her hand in Shepard as she said this, the two of them exchanging hand movements with one another. "I've read up about a lot of stuff, such as marriage, children, and a few other things."

"I've thought about it too Tali. I understand how uncertain you feel about it; I do too. It's a lot to think about. But don't worry about it, Tali. We've got plenty of time now that this war is over, and when the moment comes, we'll both know what the answers are. Just think about it for now, but give it some time. You don't want to rush ahead and make mistakes with this kind of thinking."

Tali looked up from Shepard's hand into his eyes as a brief pause reached both of them.

"Ok. Shepard, now that I think about it, would you feel alright with coming back to earth to visit every now and then?"

"Honestly, I don't want to come back. I hope I didn't have to back when I was incarcerated, and I hope I didn't have to come back when we battled the reapers one last time. I know, this is my homeworld, where I grew up, where I lived my youth; but I had a lot of bad memories here, Tali. My parents abandoned me, and I don't even know why. And when I look out that window, sometimes I see the people that died for this place. It's overcrowded, it's where I was left to die, and its nothing but a ruin now. I don't want to come back here, ever."

Tali was shocked. For a few moments, they said nothing. Then, Tali spoke up,

"Then we don't have to come back Shepard."

"Good."

Shepard looked out the window for a brief moment, then back over to Tali's face.

"Can I come back with you to Rannoch? And live my days in peace with you if I can?"

"You'll always be welcome, Shepard. It would get lonely in my house without you."

Shepard looked into Tali's eyes and calmly stroked the side of her head, and said, "Thanks."

For a few more hours, Shepard and Tali sat with each other and talked about things in general; about the rest of the crew, their lives, and a few other things. The mood and peacefulness brought ease and comfort to each other. Whenever they didn't feel like talking, they would stare out of the window in the hospital, watch the sun set, or they would stare at each other's eyes, lost in thought. Shepard caught up with the other cards Joker and Liara sent. Joker's card was like Admiral Hackett's, only this time it was a picture of the normandy instead of a alliance symbol. Joker's card read:

_Commander,_

_I know it doesn't sound like me with what im gonna say, but I hope you make it back. Ever since we blew the citadel and the reapers all to hell, it's been getting kinda...boring here. I mean, sure, we're hopping around in the normandy, rescuing survivors, and doing all that fun stuff, but I miss being able to kick some Reaper ass and doing some collateral damage. Well, actually, scratch that, I almost did when we nearly lost containment of the citadel pieces, but that's a different story. EDI has been wondering about you too; she's been doing fine after the citadel wiped the reapers out, which is good, but I don't want to get into any more detail, I mean, people have been looking at me wierd lately, and I realize the whole robot thing has gotten most of the crew shook up. At least people haven't been pestering me as much, they all go straight to EDI and don't even give me a hi or hello._

_If you get better, let me know on the normandy's radio. I hope you remembered the frequency, but in case you lost some more screws in your head, its 147.35. I'll try to pay you a visit if I can, but with how busy it's been, I'm not sure if I can spare the time. I hope you get better Shepard. We all miss you._

_Jeff 'Joker' Moreau_

Shepard put Joker's card aside and picked up Liara's, which was a picture of a few buildings on Thessia with a light blue background. It's too bad those buildings are probably long gone by now, but it was still a neat sight. Shepard opened up Liara's card and read:

_Shepard,_

_As I write this to you, im still pretty badly injured. When we were making our last stand by the crucible controls, we were overwhelmed by Reaper forces. I got shot up pretty bad, and to add insult to injury, I was stabbed several times. I thought I wouldn't make it, and at some point, I nearly lost my life. But somehow, I came through. Whether it was luck or will, I somehow made it back to this life. I just hope you make it back too; it's been nearly 4 weeks since that day, and I still haven't heard back from the doctors yet. Because I don't trust the hospital's omni-tool resources, I haven't had access to my sources yet, so im not sure what's going on right now. But once I get better, I'll see if I can make a bridge to the normandy's connection systems and see what news I can dig up for you. _

_You won't need to worry about contacting me if you get better, because by then, ill have access to my sources. I'll visit you when I get the chance, because I feel there's a lot that you need to catch up on. I'm sure some of your crew can keep you up to date, but ill see if I can dig up anything that might be useful to you. I'm sorry about James. He was a good soldier, and it was a shame he had to die. I lost a lot of good people too, Shepard. I'm sure we all have. I just hope that when this is all over, we have a home to come back to; I know a lot of people probably won't have a home. _

_Get well, Shepard._

_Liara_

Shepard put down Liara's card with a faint smile on his face. Tali commented, "I'll let Liara know that you've caught up on things, Shepard. Don't worry."

Finally, the visiting hours were near a end, and Tali would have to leave soon.

"Well Shepard, I think the hospital is going to close up soon, and I don't think the admiralty board has heard from me in a while. I'll have to pack up."

"Thanks a lot Tali. You made me feel better today coming by and talking to me."

"I think I should be the one thanking you, Shepard. You held on for me and came back again."

"Indeed."

"I'll let your crew know that your alive and well. Oh, and by the way, your equipment was retrieved and stored back on the Normandy. I forgot to mention that gun I gave you is certainly heavier than it looks. I wasn't too sure if you would be able to reach it when I slid it over to you."

"It's heavy, but it packs a hell of a kick if you give it some time."

"No kidding."

Tali got up off the bed and was about to put her mask back on when Shepard asked,

"I know your leaving, but...can we say our goodbyes to each other one more time?"

Tali looked over to Shepard and lowered her mask.

"For you, always."

Tali climbed back into the bed with Shepard, hugged each other tightly, then kissed one last beautiful time. As Tali's lips left Shepards, they looked at each other with their eyes one last time before Tali put her mask on.

"If you need to reach me for anything, you know my frequency."

"Thanks Tali. I love you."

"Keelah Se'lai." Tali responded. She opened the door, took one last look at Shepard, then closed the door. Shepard looked over a few things using the hospital's omni-tool before getting some bedrest. It was such a short day, and already, he was tired. Shepard eventually fell asleep, eagerly awaiting for the future.


	4. Chapter 2: The Way Out

In a few weeks, Shepard would begin rehabilitating from his injuries. On a daily basis, when Tali wasn't busy performing her admiralty duties, she would visit him and give Shepard the morale support to help him recover. Garrus, Joker, EDI, Liara, Javik and the rest of the crew would visit Shepard from time to time to reunite with each other and talk about what was going on in the galaxy. Things were getting better though, and it seemed certain that within a few days, the Mass Relay being moved to the Sol system would arrive and help earth link back to the rest of the galaxy.

One day, as Shepard was standing at the hospital window, looking down at the rubble plain around the hospital, he heard a knock. He turned around and, to his surprise, Admiral Hackett was standing by his door.

"Admiral?" Shepard exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't expect to see you here so soon."

"Commander Shepard," Admiral Hackett responded in happiness, "It's good to see your alive and well!" The admiral and commander shook hands with each other.

"How are things going in the galaxy, Admiral?"

"It's a mess everywhere you go, Shepard. Earth isn't the only place where recovery efforts are taking effect. No matter where you go, there's rubble on every planet and colony out there. Some places were not hit so hard though; some of our outlying colonies and planets had a few reapers show up, but the damage was fairly minimal. Others though, were nearly destroyed. I've gotten word that Thessia and Palaven are the two hardest-hit homeworlds in the galaxy, and the reports from Palaven are the most disturbing. Some say you can see the whole planet burning in space. It's that bad."

"Wow, sounds like the turians are going to need a lot of help building back their homeworld."

"I'm sure your also aware of the destruction of the citadel. The council has agreed to discuss plans about building a new space station when the relay to the sol system is in place."

"Where will the meeting take place?"

"Before the attack on the reapers, the council built a new flagship called the Highland Farren. They plan on hosting their meeting on their ship with ambassadors from every species to decide what to do. We just got word on the progress of the Mass Relay; if all goes well, it'll be here in two days."

"Will you be there at the meeting?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, Anderson is presumed KIA after we were unable to find him on the citadel. I'm sorry the news came so late commander."

Commander Shepard turned away for a moment before returning to Hackett. "He was a good man, Admiral."

"Indeed. He will be honored at the Arlington National Cemetary. You may want to pay a visit before you leave earth, if you plan on leaving."

"I might just have to."

"Shepard, I want to get to the point. You've done a lot for us. You saved us from the reapers. You went above and beyond, even when the council and the alliance were weary of helping you. You did more than we could possibly imagine you could do. And for that, the galaxy owes you a great debt for ensuring our survival. None of us would be alive if you didn't intervene against the reapers."

"What are you trying to tell me, Admiral?"

"First off, Shepard, the good news. When you shut down Cronos Station, and defeated the Illusive Man, we managed to get a hold of the cerberus assets they had. And my god, Shepard; they had a foothold on everything the alliance had in terms of resources. We couldn't believe just how deep they had us. You'll get more than your fair share of the resources they make each year; you'll get 200 million credits to spend on whatever you choose each year. We didn't want to give you all of the resources they had, believe me, the amount of credits they made would have overwhelmed anyone."

"Thank you Admiral, I appreciate the good gesture."

"But now it's time to ask you Shepard: Will you still continue to serve with the alliance, or will you retire?"

Shepard looked outside the window and thought about this for a moment. "Do I really want to still keep fighting even after the war is over?" He thought. Shepard thought back of all the memories he had in the past several years. He thought about the times he had with his crew, and the battles he endured his whole life. In Shepard's life those past few years, he was dedicated to fighting back the reapers. From stopping Saren, to the collectors, and finally the reapers themselves. Shepard faught a hard life the past few years. He lost some of his crew in the process, and was worried about losing some of his closer friends as well, especially Tali, the quarian Shepard came to love the most. He thought about it, until Admiral Hackett got his attention.

"Shepard? Shepard?"

"Admiral, sorry, I...I want to retire. I'm done fighting. I just...I want to live a life of peace now. I know you still want to have me in the alliance, but...our war with the reapers is over now. I've saved the galaxy. I saved you. I saved a lot of us. It's taken a huge burden on me, and I feel that it's for my benefit, as well as yours, if I retire."

"I understand your decision Shepard, and I had a feeling you would retire. I didn't want you to burn yourself out fighting all of your life. But if you still had it in you, I would be glad to extend a hand and welcome you back once again. I think this for the best, Shepard." Admiral Hackett turned to look outside the window, as Shepard joined by doing so as well.

"I'm not sure if you plan on staying on earth or leaving, Shepard. Your always welcome back on Earth for what you did for us. But, if you do leave, you may want to speak with the council. They want to discuss your spectre status in private."

"I'll be sure to meet up with them before I leave, Admiral."

"And by the way, before you leave, I also recommend taking a visit to the Arlingtion National Cemetary. We have a memorial dedicated to not only Anderson, but also of your crew who sacrified themselves for the greater good of the galaxy. It's worth the visit."

"Sounds interesting. I'll have to take a look at it."

"I hope so, Shepard. I'll be sure to report of your retirement. You won't have your commander status anymore, but its nothing to worry about. In the meantime, the council still has your spectre status granted since your still alive. You'll still have command of the normandy, so you won't need to worry about transportation in getting to the council flagship."

"At least it's good to hear I still have her."

"I wish I could stay, Shepard, but I still have a lot to attend to. Whatever you do, and wherever you go, Shepard, I hope you get to find peace. Take care, Shepard."

"God speed, Admiral."

Admiral Hackett left the room as Shepard continued to stare out the window. It took a little while, but the news finally sunk into him. 200 million credits a year to do whatever he wanted; he couldn't wait to break the news to Tali. But what of his spectre status? It had him intrigued, made him wonder what will become of his fate. The answers would soon be on the horizon for Shepard.

Shepard didn't want to tarry any longer in the hospital. Before the day ended, he used his omni-tool that he recovered from his personal storage locker in the hospital to call up Joker.

"Joker?"

"Hot damn commander, it's good to hear your voice. Piss anyone off lately? Can we finally leave earth?"

"Not yet, but soon. I need a shuttle at the hospital for tommorow; there's a few places I need to visit."

"Sure thing commander, I'll be sure to send one your way. I'll try to get a pilot that, you know, won't crash the shuttle into the hospital."

"Joker."

"Shutting up now commander. Over and out."

Shepard then broke Tali the news about his retirement and funding to Tali on his omni-tool.

"What? 200 million credits? This is a joke, right?"

"If it was joke I would have said billion, not million."

"Wha...that's great! Well, at least we don't have to worry about carving our house out of rock."

"I would have found a way to get you that house on Rannoch Tali, even without the 200 million credits."

"You are pretty good at making things happen."

"By the way, im charting a shuttle tommorow to Arlington National Cemetary, to see the memorial they have of the normandy crew. Can you come along?"

"Sure, id be happy to, Shepard. Would we be able to take a look at the ruins of the Rayya as well?"

"Absolutely."

"Thank you, Shepard. It means a lot."

"No problem. Meet me at the rooftop of the hospital tommorow at noon. We'll probably stay onboard the normandy once we're done on earth; I'm gonna have to see the council about my spectre status once the relay comes through."

"The quarian fleet will be there as well, so it's no problem."

"I'll see you tommorow then, Tali."

"Keelah Se'lai."

"Keelah Se'lai, Tali."

The rest of the day and night wore on seemlessly. At the break of dawn, Shepard woke up, informed the nurses of his departure, grabbed his equipment from his locker, and waited at the top of the rooftop for Tali and the shuttle to arrive. The view at the roof of the hospital was amazing; he could see all around the area, with hills in the background, as well as alliance camps all over the area, cleaning up rubble and ruin that scattered the wasteland. From time to time, a ship of either human or turian construction would fly by in the distance, racing towards its destination. Some time later, the door to the roof of the hospital opened, and Tali met up with Shepard.

"Hey Shepard."

"Tali. Thanks for coming by."

"Of course. Enjoying the view?"

"I thought I wouldn't care about it, but its not bad."

"And to think, a few weeks ago, this whole area was charred with rubble from either spaceships or the buildings that used to surround Loretta Hospital."

"I heard it was worse on Palaven. They said the whole planet was burning."

"Yeah, it pretty much is. Garrus isn't taking the news too well, but he's still hanging on."

"Have you seen him lately?"

"No, I haven't heard from him in a while."

"Hmm."

As Tali and Shepard continued to stare out at the distance, their shuttle arrived. Walking towards it, the shuttle door slowly opened, and when it did, they were greeted by a familiar face.

"Shepard. Ready to go?"

"Garrus. I was worried about you for a moment there."

"Don't be. You know I don't go down that easily."

"I guess not. Let's roll."

Tali and Shepard boarded the shuttle with Garrus as a passanger. They talked about a few things on the way to the Arlington National Cemetary to kill time. As the shuttle made it's final approach, the trio got off and walked around the cemetary.


	5. Chapter 3: Clashing Winds

Arlington National Cemetary was largely untouched; the reapers must not have cared about places such as these, which is understandable. Many graves lined the plots of this cemetary, some of which are 400 years or older. They passed various memorials on their way to the normandy memorial, such as the Space Shuttle Columbia memorial, as well as a few other locations. Finally, they arrived at the Normandy SR-2 memorial. The names of those who gave their lives in battle were shown here; Mordin Solus, Thane Krios, Legion and a few others were shown on this board.

"These people were brave soldiers," Garrus commented. "They gave their lives so you could help stop the reapers and unite the galaxy. Mordin was a unique salarian; I could sometimes hear his singing whenever I did my calibrations. I never did like Legion much at first, but...he opened my eyes to something. Something I never would have seen otherwise."

"I never thought I would mourn a geth," Tali replied. "But Legion helped bring peace between our people. I was glad you were there to help make that happen, Shepard."

"Thanks, Tali."

"I never thought I would ever get to set foot on Rannoch," Garrus said. "I was amazed the Geth cleaned up the place after the war was over. They didn't colonize the planet or anything. It's like they wanted you back, but at the same time, they didn't. It's...wierd. I'm not sure if ill be able to get along with the geth now that they've made peace with the galaxy, but it is something."

While Garrus and Tali were chatting about Rannoch, something caught Shepard's attention. A man was looking at him, just a few feet away. At first, he didn't recognize the man. While it looked somewhat like him, it was probably just another passer-by. But then, something clicked into place...could this man be...No. It couldn't...

"Father?" Shepard said in disbelief.

"Son." Shepard's father replied. "It has been a long, long time." Shepard's father smiled at his only son. He was definately old, probably in his early 50's, but he still had muscle. He was slightly taller than Shepard. Tali and Garrus looked over to Shepard and his father. They formed up behind Shepard, to see what was going on.

"But...but...this can't be happening. I can't believe it. You show up here, at this moment! Why?"

"There's a lot I have to explain, my son." Shepard's father walked a bit closer to him. "It all started just when you were one year old. Your mother and I lived in a fairly nice neighboorhood on the outskirts of Ontario, Canada. For a living, we used to work at a plant that made Ezero engines. It was marvelous. But then, one day, something happened. While we were working in the plant, terrorists took over the place, without warning. These guys weren't just anyone; they were professionals. They somehow knew who we were, what we made and how we did it. They broke into the plant, and rounded us all up. We weren't sure what they were going to do with us, but we found out soon enough; they killed the CEO of the place, and they were going to do the same with us. They wanted to take over the company and use it for their own purposes. So one by one, they shot us all in the head, cleaned up the mess, and burnt our bodies."

"But...this is impossible. If they did this, then how did you escape? And how did I wind up as an orphan!"

"They didn't find me. I hid away in a ventilation shaft and witnessed what I saw as I was crawling out. I wish I could have saved your mother, son, but I couldn't. I'm sorry." Shepard looked away for a moment as his father paused, bowing his head down before looking at Shepard and resuming the story. "They were seraching for me as I was leaving the complex and when I finally returned home. When I returned home, I saw some of the people that broke into the place were there as well, so I had to leave. I tried getting access to my bank account or whatever I could, but it was all gone. It didn't even exist. I had nothing but the clothes on my back, son. I didn't know what they did to you, but I was always on the run from them. They always kept going after me, chasing leads and rumors. But they never caught up to me. It seems as if I were always 2 steps ahead of them, and they couldn't think past that."

"Who was it that came after all of you?"

"After I managed to keep eluding my captors, I finally acquired some resources and did some research of my own. Apparently, it was a terrorist group named Cerberus. I found out by describing the uniforms they wore and the tactics they used."

"Cerberus? I don't believe it...why would cerberus attack a Ezero facility that YOU yourself worked in?"

"I still don't know, son. Whatever the cause they had is now buried in forgotten history."

Shepard was shocked. He couldn't believe that this man that was standing in front of him was his father. And even more, he couldn't believe that the reason he supposidly became an orphan was because Cerberus took over the factory he was working in and wiped out all traces of his family. He didn't want to. He was tired of the man standing in front of him and his lies. Shepard turned around and walked away, but Garrus interviened.

"Shepard..." Garrus put his hand on Shepard's shoulder.

"NO, Garrus." Shepard tried to brush off Garrus but Garrus only tightened his grip further.

"Shepard! I know you don't like this, but give him a chance. I've had these feelings before when you've talked to people, and my feelings are telling me he might just be telling the truth." Tali came to Shepard's side while Garrus was talking to him, putting her hand on his shouder to try and build confidence in him. Shepard stood his ground for a few moments before making his decision.

Shepard turned around to his father and said, "Then what happened with you? Did you even try to find me?"

"For most of my time, I couldn't. Not until I changed my identity and had access to a few resources of my own. Cerberus was after me for 10 years before I could change my identity. I couldn't find out what happened to you because whatever records they had of your past were erased. Scrubbed from the system. It's like you disappeared into thin air. For most of my life, I ended up just trying to survive and get by with what I had. The only way I had hope that you survived was on the news one day. They talked about how you stopped sovereign, a geth warship, from destroying the citadel."

"It wasn't a geth warship. It was a reaper."

"A reaper? So I see. The news always has trouble relaying the truth. Anyways, when I heard your name on the news, I thought about you for some reason. I did some research, and found the picture of you at that time bore a striking resembalance. I didn't know why, but it did. I wanted to see for myself if it was really you, but by the time I found a way to reach you, you were already dead. Destroyed in a attack. My heart was broken. I was at your memorial, son. I thought you were dead. That's when I gave up looking for you. I'm sorry if I gave up looking for you at that time, but I honestly and truly believed you were dead. I almost commited suicide because of it, but if it had worked, I wouldn't be here to see you."

Shepard paused for a moment to take all of this in. Garrus looked at him, as did Tali. They knew he was in shock from all of this. Tali tried to comfort him by saying, "It's ok, Shepard. We're with you." while giving him a side hug. She eventually let go after she sensed he felt a bit better.

"I...understand." Shepard replied. So what happened after all of this?"

"I tried to live out my life in peace. And to some small degree, I did. I went around from place to place, getting jobs wherever I could. I heard rumors on the news that you were alive, but I didn't believe it. Especially since it was 2 years after your death. At the time, I dismissed it as morale support for the galaxy. But then, when the reapers came, things changed. People still talked about you, and I braught up about how you died. People said to me that you were really alive, and when I heard the news about your exploits, I knew then, for sure, that you were alive. But tell me son; did you really die?"

"Yes. I was killed in a collector attack on the SSV normandy. The ship was destroyed, and I didn't make it. I was spaced. But cerberus found me, and braught me back to life."

"By god...Cerberus. They have a hand in everything the galaxy does."

"To some degree, they do. Unfortunately, we were forced to work for cerberus in taking out a collector base. We lost a few good people in the process...but we destroyed the base. After that, we were tasked by Admiral Hackett to recover one of his personel. They found out that the reapers were coming, and it was only a matter of time. But they were indoctrinated, and tried to kill me, but failed. We managed to blow up the relay and prevent the reaper invasion from happening. Unfortunately, it came at the cost of a lot of batarians."

"I heard a lot about that story. I'm not sure what's true, but now that your here, I know what happened."

"We were there for Shepard though all the way," Tali added. "We never worked for cerberus, but we worked for Shepard. He was the one who got us through."

"It's good to see that you value your companions, son. It's something I never was too good at, unfortunately."

"So how did you know to meet me here? It seems a bit odd that you would know how to meet me here."

"Ah, good question! I didn't hear much about where you were during the reaper invasion, but after the citadel was destroyed, I asked around what happened. Over time, I knew that you were on the citadel when it exploded, and you were taken back to earth for treatment. Nobody knew if you were alive or dead, so I started worrying. It wasn't until yesterday that I learned where you were, and by the time I got there, I had heard you left on a shuttle. So I looked on the extranet for any shuttle plans, and after a little investigating, found a log that said you left for the Arlington National Cemetary. I pooled the last of my credits to get here. I figured you would be here, since they announced the Normandy memorial only 3 days ago."

"That's...a little scary that you knew I would be here."

"But compared to all of the searching I did throughout my years for you, it is a ray of hope that I had for you. Plus, information such as that is not always private, especially with a place like that. Son, all of those long, painful years of mine were spent running, surviving and trying to find you. I wasn't too sure if I would ever get to find you, and like I said, I nearly killed myself when I learnt of your first death. But after so many years of searching, I have finally been able to see with my own eyes the son I never had.

Son, I know what I am going to ask for might not have the answer I am looking for, but...can you forgive me?"

Shepard had to think about this for a moment. "Forgive him? Really?" When he thought about it, his father left him in a sense; he didn't try to sneak into the house to get him, he wasn't able to find him when he was a orphan, and he wasn't able to find him until he was dead. Why should he forgive him? He should just kick him in the groin and be thankful he only got that for all those years he spent scraping by. But...when he thought about it some more, was it really his fault that his identity was erased? That has mother was killed? That he spent all of those years running away from cerberus and trying to scrape by? He didn't know the answers for sure, but he knew of one thing: His father would not abandon him willingly. He would not have left him as a orphan for his own reasons. He would have stood by and cared for him, even if his mother could not.

After looking at his father's curious gaze, and with Tali as well as Garrus wondering if Shepard would answer, he finally replied with, "I...forgive you, father."

And with that, Shepard and his father gave each other a hug, a tear rolling down his father's right eye. He whispered to him, "Thank you, son." as he was very grateful for his forgiveness. After letting go, his father asked, "So are these companions of yours part of your crew?"

"More than that. They're my friends." Shepard gestered to Tali while saying, "This is Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy. She's been with me since the beginning. She's a quarian engineer, and a damn good one at that."

"It's nice to meet you," said Tali.

"And this is Garrus Vakarian. Turian Sharpshooter, former mercanary leader and C-Sec officer. He's very good at calibrating."

"I've also been with Shepard since the beginning," Garrus commented. "We've been through hell and back at least 3 times over."

Shepard's father chuckled as he stated, "Well, I'm glad to see you have such good friends on your side, Shepard."

"I know we have a lot to catch up on, father, but for now, I want to finish looking over the memorial before we head back."

"Of course, my son, I totally understand."

Shepard, his father, Garrus and Tali finished looking over the SSV Normandy and Normandy SR-2 memorials after 30 minutes, and called the shuttle back. During this time, they talked more about each other, Shepard describing his friends and career in detail, with his father talking about some of the jobs he had and how he survived the reaper invasion. The shuttle finally came to pick the 4 of them up, and they headed up back to the Normandy SR-2.

As the shuttle docked in the normandy's shuttle bay, the crew Assembled to see Shepard. It had been over a month since that fateful day, and the crew were eager to see him again. The shuttle bay door opened, and all of the normandy crew, including Joker and EDI, lined up side by side to the elevator door to pay Shepard his respects. As Shepard, Dyson (Shepard's father), Tali and Garrus stepped off the shuttle, the crew that they passed saluted in respect. Shepard nodded or sometimes gave a verbal greeting as he passed the crew. At the end of the line was Joker and EDI, saluting them. Shepard said,

"Thanks Joker. But im not a commander anymore. Just a spectre."

To which Joker replied,

"No matter what you are, you saved our asses from the fire more than once. You helped save the galaxy when nobody would listen. We owe you that much."

"Carry on, Joker. You did well."

"Thanks Shepard."

The four of them stopped by the elevator door, to which Shepard asked Garrus,

"Do you mind if you give Dyson a tour of the ship? I have to go with Tali to take care of some business back on earth."

"Sure thing, Shepard."

As Dyson and Garrus boarded the elevator to get a personal tour, Shepard felt that he should give the crew a speech before leaving for the shuttle. Shepard took a few moments and then stated,

"Gentlemen. Ladies. You have all served onboard the Normandy. You have done not only yourselves proud, but me as well. No matter whether you were with me from the beginning, or if you joined up with me during the reaper invasion, you have been a part of history. This history will never be forgotten, as long as you continue to remember it. While I helped save the galaxy from the reaper threat, I couldn't have done it without any of you. It's all about teamwork. And it was this teamwork that helped us defeat sovereign. It was this teamwork that helped ensure the destruction of the collector base. And it was this teamwork that helped eraticate the reapers from the face of the galaxy. None of this would have been possible without my help. I give my thanks to all of you.

"But know this: I have retired from the Alliance. I have faught a long and brutal war against not only the reapers, but also the council as well. No matter what I tried to do, I failed to convince them that the reapers were a threat. But I continued fighting, because I believed that as long as I kept trying, there would still be hope that the galaxy could be saved. And this perserverance paid off. I am not sure if I will still be a council spectre or if I will lose this status, but if I do, know that it has been a pleasure working with all of you in making history.

Carry on."

And with that, Shepard and Tali boarded the shuttle while the rest of the crew returned to their positions. The shuttle took them to the Jungles of Africa, where the wreckage of the Rayya was in place.


	6. Chapter 4: Grave Rememberance

"According to the reports I've received, the ship is actually mostly intact. That's surprising, considering it was shot down, then burned up in the atmosphere as it crash landed here. Maybe the environment had something to do with it, im not sure."

"You ok?"

"It might be a bit difficult seeing my home ship in ruins, but I can manage."

"Just let me know if you need anything, and ill be right there with you."

"Thanks."

After a short trip, the shuttle finally found a place to land. It was a bit of a walk from here; the jungle was moist, humid and hot. The heat was getting to Shepard a bit. Tali, however, had environmental controls in her suit, so temperature was not an issue.

*Phew* "Wow, Tali, its actually pretty hot down here."

"My suit readings tell me its about 90 degrees fahrenheit here with a relative humidty of 98%."

"There. I see it!"

As they emerged from some trees, the ruins of the Rayya came into full view. They stopped to take a brief look at it. Because of the foilage the Rayya smashed away when it impacted, it was easy to view the entire ship. Battle damage was clearly visable throughout the whole ship; it took a beating. Part of the nose was buried into the ground, and pieces of the back of the ship were missing. They were scattered throughout the jungle, difficult if not impossible to see. For Tali, it wasn't a pretty sight to look at; the ship that she was borned and raised on was now wrecked, best left for salvage operations. She had a bit of sorrow inside her, but resisted it as they approached the ship.

"Well, this is it Shepard. The Rayya. There's not much left now, I guess."

"We'll see about that later. Right now, let's see if we can get inside."

They looked around the Rayya to see if there was a way in, and sure enough, after a few seconds, found a hull breach big enough to crawl into. Tali and Shepard wiggled their way inside and made it inside one of the decks of the Rayya. Inside, it was dark, only the emergency lighting offering illumination in the ship. It was even hotter inside than outside, to the point where Shepard warned Tali,

"I may have to take a few breaks if I get too hot," Shepard Panted. "Even a guy like me can only take so much."

"Whenever you need a break, just let me know."

As Shepard walked with Tali around the ship, they looked around. It was not only dark, but cramped; the hallways of the ship were narrow, leaving not much room to navigate. As they forced a door open, they happened to find themselves on the bridge. Tali went to a control panel, and tried to restart the power to the ship.

"Bos'chet! The ship's auxillary power generators are offline. But, I might be able to increase the lighting..."

And as Tali said this, the ship suddenly became brighter as the main lights were restored. It was hot and humid onboard the ship, and while the light didn't help much, it did make things easier to look at. Tali downloaded a map of the Rayya to her suit's omni-tool, up to date with any hull breeches and problems they may encounter.

"Hmm...it looks like some of the places I wanted to show you aren't there."

"Such as?"

"Part of the med-bay is cut off from the ship, and engineering is inaccessible."

"Well, let's carry on then."

As Shepard and Tali moved out from the bridge, he couldn't help but notice the wildlife was settling in. Birds were chirping as they moved through the Rayya's narrow hallways, and insects were crawling all around the place. He wondered to himself if the jungle spiders have moved in yet, as that would really get Tali's body going into a full adrenline rush. The first place that Shepard and Tali stopped by was the observation deck at the front of the ship. The glass was smashed in due to the impact of the ship and water flooded the lower section.

"This is the forward observation deck. When I was little, I used to come here and look out the window to see all of space. Sometimes my father or mother would have to drag me away because of how much I liked the view. It was amazing when I first saw it; a whole galaxy out there, waiting for me to explore. But these days, it means little to me."

"Well, im sure when you look up at the skylight in my cabin, you still think of it."

"Hm. Maybe I do Shepard. But the idea of exploring space hasn't meant much to me anymore. We have already. We've learned as much as we could out of our Galaxy."

"Tali, we might have charted all of the planets in our galaxy, but that doesn't mean we discovered all of it's secrets."

"Hmm...your right, Shepard. I guess im just frustrated."

They looked at the remains of the forward observation deck before finally moving on. At times, they noticed the lights flickering, the result of the ship taking heavy damage, and Shepard couldn't help but notice that the ship seemed unusually quiet. He thought that, even in this state, the ship would be louder, but the damage caused by the wreckage probably silenced the ship otherwise. That was probably a good thing, as the noise on top of the heat, humidity and cramped walls would have started to drill into his mind. After forcing open a few more stubborn doors, they finally reached the crew quarters. Inside, Shepard noticed a big, wide open area, with carpets and privacy blinds scattered around. He noticed a few doors leading into restrooms and other utility locations. Was this what they lived in? Nothing but wide open spacing and carpeting? Shepard couldn't imagine some of the living conditions Tali had to go through on a cramped ship such as this.

"These are the crew quarters. As you no doubt noticed, it's just a wide open area. Carpeting and privacy blinds would seperate the others. We couldn't have individual quarters as a lot of ships took on a excess amount of people. It was pretty cramped at times, but we were peaceful about it, and cared for one another." Tali walked over to a spot and said, "And this is where I was. My mother, when she was alive, and my father, when he wasn't on admiral duty, would tell me stories about the galaxy, and help me sleep when I rested."

"Wow, it must have been pretty hard for you to endure these conditions."

"It was cramped, yes. But I adapted. To the noise. To the lack of space. To everything. Even the musty smell the carpeting gave off at times."

"Were you ever afraid?"

"Sometimes. I would get afraid of the engineers here when I was little because I had nightmares about them getting sucked out of the ship when they tried to fix something. But when I got older, I didn't have the nightmares anymore, probably because I learned about them."

"I see."

As they stared at the scattered remains of carpeting and blinds in the living quarters, Shepard couldn't help but feel pity for the quarians. If his race had to go through what they did...ah, but it was a thought best purged from his mind. After a few minutes of exploring, they left the crew quarters to their next destination. But before they could get there, Tali stopped at a intersection to a hallway.

"This was the place, Shepard. My mom and dad got into a argument here."

"Oh?"

"It was when I was 7 years old. My father kept complaining about how I got sick and that my mother was doing nothing about it. They got physical about it and had to call the guards to get them away. It was awful. I couldn't believe they got into a fight with each other all because of me."

"You got sick a lot when you were little?"

"A lot of children get sick a lot when they are young, just like anyone else. While we got sick more often, it was for the same reasons; kids just get sick. My father was being a bos'chet to my mother about the issue; she was trying to get more medicene for me, but because of rationing, she couldn't. And my father, stressed out from work, blamed it on her. I don't know why they got physical, you think they wouldn't, but they did. It was so stupid."

"Hey. Don't blame yourself, Tali. It wasn't your fault that you got sick. Your father didn't treat you too well anyways, this just makes me glad he's still dead."

"Well, we had better move on. I don't want you to get too exhausted in here."

The corridors became slightly more humid as they made their way to the back of the ship. The elevation of the corridors also increased as they went up, making it harder for Shepard to navigate the ship and listen to Tali. As they walked to the back, Tali covered more on life inside the Rayya.

"We played a few electronic games for recreation, mostly puzzle-solving or create-your-own-adventure types. Like most cultures, we also had game boards and other puzzles to work on as well. The children would sometimes be given maintenance duties and other tasks to do while they were here. Whenever the ship would go on battle alert, the children were rushed to the crew quarters, which is the most protective part of the ship."

"Why are your ships designs based off of the Mass Relays?" Shepard's breathing became more rapid.

"We valued the protheans greatly, as they were similar to us; they were a technologically advanced species that eventually were wiped out by the reapers. We based our ships designs off of the Mass Relays, which we believed were the greatest technological advancement they made for the galaxy. But now that we know it wasn't the protheans that did all of this, it really puts things in shambles. Oh well, it's best not to think about it for now with our new discoveries."

Shepard was out of breath at this point, and asked, "Can we stop for a minute?"

"Sure."

Shepard found a dry place to sit down in the corridors, and Tali joined him. They held hands with other as Shepard got his breath back. When Shepard was ready to go, Tali helped him up and they moved on. They arrived in what appeared to be a medical area of the ship a few minutes later. Here, a narrow hallway had a few doors, some of which had wide-open windows for observation. Medical tools, tables and such were scattered around. At the end of the hallway, bright sunlight shined inside as part of the medical bay was cut off from the rest of the ship.

"This is the medical bay of the ship. As you can see, some of the windows here were used for observation. The windows could be tinted completely, so nobody sees inside them. This was an important feature, especially for procedures that were graphic, and for giving birth."

Tali opened up a nearby control panel and overrided the door dock as they entered a medical room. Inside, more chaos could be seen; bubbles were scattered on the floor, as were medical tools, tables and data. The entire room was bleach white from floor to ceiling. It was a mess.

"This, is the room I was born in. My mother showed me this room when we were walking around one day. It doesn't look like much, but this is where it all began. I don't remember Shala'Raan much, but my mom told me she was there with her. They said on that day I was born, I was screaming and kicking like a fussy baby at first, but then I calmed down. I think my father was there as well, my mother said the first words out of his mouth were, "She's such a sweet little angel." It's hard to believe given what you know about him, but apparently, that's what he said. I wonder if these datapads contain any information about births here."

Tali went over to some of the datapads, and quickly looked over them. After tossing a few aside, she found one containing births on the Rayya.

"Keelah," Tali exclaimed, "A lot of people were born on this ship. Ah, here's my data." After looking over the data for herself, Tali gave the datapad for Shepard to read. The datapad stated:

_Patient file 03-237-09_

_Name: Tali_

_Clan: Zorah_

_Birth Ship: Rayya_

_Weight: 8 lbs 3 ounces_

_Sex: Female _

_Blood type: Unknown (Tests incomplete)_

_Known Allergies: None_

_Mother's name: Jenny'Zorah Nar Hemlar Vas Rayya_

_Father's name: Rael'Zorah Nar Hemlar Vas Neema_

_Notes: None._

After looking up from the datapad, Shepard asked Tali, "They never finished testing what kind of blood type you had?"

"Well, the doctor did tell me I had type CA blood, which was a rare type. In our system, there are blood types, A, B, C, T, and a combination of two. The blood type is listed in reverse alphebetical order. The rarest type of blood is TA, but CA is also a second rare type. When a quarian needs a blood transfusion, they can either receive a blood type based off their first letter, if they have two blood types, or a combination of blood types that has at least their second letter in it."

"I see. Sounds like it's pretty complicated."

"To you, I suppose that's true."

"I find it interesting that your mother and father served on the same birth ship. Is this how they met?"

"Probably. They never told me though, because I was still a kid."

"I was surprised your and your father both served on the same ship after your pilgrimage. You think your father's past success had anything to do with it?"

"Maybe. Now that I think about it, it might just have something to do with it."

"I see."

"Well, this is pretty much the last place I wanted to show you, Shepard. I wish I could show you engineering and a few other places, but we can't access them at this time."

"I guess since we're all done, ill call in a shuttle and have them extract us at the top."

"That probably won't be a good idea, Shepard. Not only is it angled, but if we jumped, there's a good chance the floor will fall out and you'll miss the jump."

"Of course things couldn't be this easy. Right, I guess we'll have to walk back down then."

"It won't be too far, Shepard. I know a quick way out of here."

After a quick minute of downwards walking, they found a hull breach that they could easily crawl out of and jump down from. But, when Tali began crawling out...

"AHHHHHHHH! SPIDERS! GET THEM OFF, GET THEM OFF, I HATE SPIDERS!"

Shepard frantically pulled tali out of the hull breach and began brushing the jungle spiders off of Tali. Both of them crushed any spiders that jumped off of her suit, and after catching their breath, Shepard said,

"Well its a good thing you went in first, otherwise I would have ended up sitting in another hospital bed."

"Funny, Shepard. Let's find another way out of here; one that isn't crawling with spiders."

After a short walk down a cramped and non-spider filled hallway, they opened a door to a empty escape pod room, and found a short drop to terra firma. Both of them jumped down and walked out from beneath the Rayya. Shepard and Tali went back to the shuttle that was still awaiting for them in the distance, and took off back to the normandy.

"How are you holding up with the Rayya?"

"I'll miss the ship. I had a few good memories there; I wish I could have shown you more. But, that was my childhood; I wasn't too proud of it when I was a kid."

"I know how you feel. Being a orphan on earth wasn't a thing I was proud of either."

A short time later, the shuttle finally made its way back to the normandy and landed in the shuttle bay.


	7. Chapter 5: Heartwarming Desires

Tali and Shepard stepped off of the shuttle after arriving onboard the normandy.

"What will you do now, Shepard?"

"I'm going to check in with my father real quick, then head up to my cabin to take care of some work. Your more than welcome to join me, I could use the company."

"I'm right with you, Shepard."

"EDI, where is Dyson located?"

"Dyson is located on the third deck in Liara's quarters."

"Thanks, EDI."

Shepard took the elevator to the crew quarters, where he checked on his father to see how he was doing. His father learned about the truth of what happened so many years ago with the company he used to work it; Apparently cerberus took over where he worked to get their hands on the money they made, and continued to search for his father 10 years after he changed his identity before finally calling off the search, persuming he was KIA. Shepard chatted with him a bit more about what he would do now, to which he commented that he would probably go back to earth to get a job someplace and help rebuild the future he lost so many years ago. Shepard then left Liara's quarters and went back up to the captain's cabin with Tali.

Because of the hot and humid climate of the jungle, he decided to wash up in the shower. While Shepard was taking a shower, Tali decided to upload some of her music on Shepard's alarm clock, just to pass time. In addition, she also cleaned off some of the dirt and grime her suit attained while on the Rayya. After about 10 minutes, Shepard turned off the water to the shower, put some fresh clothes on, and stepped out to catch up on his work. As Shepard prepared to look over his first datapad, he noticed Tali sitting patiently on his corner couch below, waiting for him. Wanting to make Tali feel comfortable, he took all of his work materials and sat down next to her, setting his materials on the table in front of him.

"Do you care for a back or shoulder massage, Shepard?"

"Give me all that you got, Tali."

Shepard proceeded to take off his shirt, while Tali took off the gloves of her suit to which Tali proceeded to massage Shepard's back as he was working. Most of his work consisted of ordinary paperwork that a officer would be expected to fill out, with a few interesting reports from engineering or operations here and there. While Shepard was completing his paperwork, Tali was easing his sore and tough spots on his shoulder and back, making him feel more comfortable in the process. It felt nice, and the soft touch and feel of Tali's hands made his massage even better. Shepard had to resist the feeling of just falling back and submitting to Tali's slender touch. After a good length of time, Tali finished her message just as soon as Shepard was finished with all of his paperwork.

"Did you enjoy your massage, Shepard?"

"Of course, Miss Vas Normandy. One of the best I've ever gotten. Would you like one?"

"Maybe later, Shepard. For now, I just want to talk with you."

"Tommorow we're supposed to meet up with the council to discuss my spectre status. I'm not sure if im going to lose or keep it. I probably will lose it, but it would be nice if I kept it. I like the normandy."

"The normandy is the best, Shepard. If you keep your status, we might have to build a hangar in our backyard for it."

"We just might have to. I'd love to keep her, but that probably won't happen. The galaxy needs her."

"I guess so."

"I'm thinking about throwing a beach party for our crew at our new home once we set a foundation for it and build it."

"Sounds fun. What will we have at this party?"

"A beachside bar, some volleyball, swimming, beach running, suntanning, all of that fun stuff."

"Hmmmmm."

"It'll be fun. I just gotta find a store to buy our stuff for our house and that so we can be all set."

"There are a few trader ships in the floatilla that might have a few supplies we need."

"I'll see if I can find a few colonies that have a few stores open, there's bound to be a few around here somewhere."

"Have you got any plans for our house yet?"

"Have you?"

"I've been studying a bit of quarian architexture. I don't have a solid idea yet, but when we start building our house, ill have a idea of what I want."

"Well, it's your house Tali. The deed, the property, your homeworld; it's yours to decide."

"Don't forget that its your house too, Shepard. You gave me my homeworld back, and then there's you."

"I have a few ideas of my own. You'll find out as we build the house."

"I hope im not in for any unpleasent surprises."

"Trust me, you aren't. I think your gonna like what im gonna show you."

Shepard looked at the time on his alarm clock, and noticed it was fairly late.

"Well, are you feeling up for that massage? It might take a while since I have to clean myself up from germs and that."

"Sure. I'll get ready."

Shepard went to his bathroom and gave himself a quick decontaimination in anticipation for Tali's massage. Meanwhile, Tali purified the air in the room using some sterilization sprays, dimmed the lights, and lit a few candles in the cabin. When Shepard was ready, he stepped out to see Tali laying on her front on Shepard's bed, ready for Shepard to massage her back. The dim environment with Tali shining in the darkness made the night more exotic. He proceeded to loosen up the cloth Tali had on her back and took her back piece of her suit off, exposing her precious back and shoulders. He started at her shoulders, tenderly massaging those muscles beneath her skin, easing his way back and forth, not missing a spot at all. Tali sighed in comfort as her body reacted to Shepard's skin and his massaging techniques. She had chills all over her body and her mind was in heaven over his massage. When he was all done, he began working his way back and forth on her back, being ever so precious and going up and down each curve of her body. At one point, he found her sweet spot on her back, and when he did, Tali reacted with,

"Aaaaaah, Shepard, that's the spot, right there. Keep going there."

Shepard exposed this weakness on Tali, massaging her sweet spot and causing her to lose control of her body. Tali surrendered herself to Shepard as she bathed in the comfort her body now offered. It was her first massage on her skin, and she experienced a sensation unlike any other. It was...perfect. Tali bathed in this comfort for a long time before Shepard finished with her back. But he was far from done. There was still plenty of work to be done. Tali then took off the leg parts of her suit and began massaging those powerful legs of hers. It was a bit wierd massaging a quarian's legs, but well worth it for Shepard. The soft, but durable muscles Shepard massaged reminded him of what Grunt said about quarians: They were still soft, but tougher than humans.

When he finally finished up massaging her powerful legs, he finished off Tali's massage with a conforting foot massage. While he didn't bother with her third toe because of a lack of need to massage it, he started at the back of her foot and worked his way around each long, slender toe of hers. While massaging her feet, she couldn't help but get the feeling that Tali was a bit ticklish at her feet, evidenced by her posture and movement. After massaging her last toe, he finished off her experience with a tickle, to which she immediately giggled and shook slightly at the sensation of being tickled. She didn't know what it was at the time, but to her, it gave her a funny yet good feeling to her body.

Shepard ended her massage and let Tali put the pieces of her suit back on. While it only took a hour to massage Tali's smooth body, to her, it felt like an eternity. It put her right in the mood to fall asleep with Shepard.

"I hope you enjoyed your massage, Tali."

"More than anything you know."

"We should get to bed. I imagine we have a long day ahead of us tommorow."

"With the council and all? Totally."

Shepard blew out the candles and said, "Goodnight, Tali."

"Goodnight."

They wrapped themselves in blankets and cuddled each other as they fell asleep, Tali purring in her sleep while Shepard was snoring lightly. The two of them slept soundly and well for the rest of the night.


	8. Chapter 6: Trial by Fire

After a good 9 hours of relaxing sleep, it was time to begin the day. Tali woke up first, Shepard being sound asleep in bed with her. She checked the time. In earth time, it was 0828. She wondered if the Mass Relay made it through yet and if the council was going to contact them soon. Tali decided it was time for Shepard to wake up.

"Hey. It's time to wake up, hon."

Shepard moaned slightly as he began to wake up, Tali gently stroking his arm and torso to embrace him. He got up from the side of the bed, grabbed some fresh dress clothing, and proceeded with Tali down to the CIC deck. He walked up to the cockpit and got the latest news from Joker.

"Co... Shepard."

"Got any news about the Mass Relay or the council?"

"Nope, nothing yet Shepard. I'll let you know the moment the relay makes it here."

"Can't wait for them to get it through here. Let me known as soon as it arrives."

"Yes sir."

Shepard then went around the ship with Tali, maybe to give it a last tour, or maybe to just catch up on the memories. As they were looking around in the hidey hole in engineering, suddenly Joker called out over the intercom:

"Shepard, im picking up a Mass Relay on our long range scanners. It must be the one that they just moved."

"Good. Move us in, Joker. And if you see the council flagship, hail them and see if you can dock with them. We have important business to take care of down there."

"Will do."

The normandy warped over to the new Mass Relay. It was as if the relay was there all along, and never lost. Shepard went up to the cockpit to take a look at the relay, noticing the absence of the council flagship. However, just a few seconds later, the flagship emergered from the Mass Relay. It was spectacular; while it looked like a regular battle crusier, the size exceled that of the Destiny Asension, as well as some of the human and turian crusiers. Joker hailed the ship to be granted docking clearance, and after a short chat with the navigator, was granted docking clearance. The normandy then finally docked to the council flagship as Tali, Shepard, Joker, EDI, Liara, Ashley and Javik prepared to board. They all had business of their own; Tali needed to meet up with the admiralty board, EDI would Assist Joker as he and Ashley would no doubt need to see Admiral Hackett, and Liara wanted to speak to the council about Javik. The airlock hissed as it opened up to the council flagship. As the crew entered the council flagship, it was magnificent. Inside, three floors were clearly visible, with a variety of just about every legacy council race's architecture; salarian, asari, turian, even human designs were seen all over the ship. People were running around, taking care of urgent matters, while lights all over the ship illuminated in unique patterns. The color of the ship was a neutral white. An Asari greeted the crew of the Normandy.

"Ah, welcome! Shepard, the council will want to speak with you now. It is down this hallway, take the ramp up and to your left."

"Thanks."

"Everyone else, what is the purpose of your visit here?"

Shepard was out of earshot of whatever his crew were going to say. He proceeded up the ramp in the central chamber, then took a left. A sign which read, 'Council chambers' in multiple alien languages pointed him to the right area. Shepard opened the automatic door to the chambers, which closed behind him promptly as he stepped in. The chamber was large; flora and other plants decorated the corners and edges. The platform Shepard was on was located on the second floor, with the council platform not too far away across from Shepard on the third floor. The council was already assembled, and ready to speak with Shepard with whatever they were going to tell him. Shepard was slightly nervous.

"Shepard," Councilor Osoba began the meeting with in stating, "We're glad you could make it."

"First off, we wanted to congradulate you on your help to ridding the galaxy of the reapers," Stated Councilor Irissa. "No other spectre in council history has topped the achievement that you have made by uniting our species in a cause that would have been doomed otherwise. We are greatful that you have saved the galaxy in doing so. But that is not why you are here. The first issue we wanted to discuss was your destruction of the Mass Relay in the Bahak system. We've read the reports and we're not quite sure what to believe. Can you tell us what happened?"

For half an hour, Shepard described the events of what happeened in the Bahak system. He argued at times with the council over some issues, but after a long series of debates, and showing some evidence from his omni-tool, Shepard made his point: He went into the system to rescue a alliance deep-undercover agent. This agent found out that the reapers may arrive soon, and originally constructed some engines in a asteroid to ram it into the Bahak relay and prevent the reapers from using it, giving them some time to prepare against the invasion. However, the crew were indoctrinated, but despite this, Shepard managed to fight his way through, prevent the indoctrinated crew from sabotaging the asteroid, and succesfully destroy the asteroid, being warned from Harbinger that this was merely a delay.

"The council will need a recess to assess the information we have regarding this incident," Stated Councilor Irissa. "You may return in 30 minutes, Shepard."

"Understood, councilor."

Shepard stepped outside of the council chambers. He wondered how the rest of the crew were doing, so he went down to the observation deck to find that his crew, and a few others, were watching him the whole time.

"Are you doing alright, Shepard?" Tali asked. She was slightly nervous, her hands intertwining with each other.

"Im doing ok, it seems that even after this war, I still have to drill holes in their heads just to make my point."

"Well, we never expected the council to be nice for us for a change, I mean right?" Joker asked.

"I guess some things never change."

"You did well, Shepard. I hope the council does not judge you harshly on this matter." Admiral Hackett commented.

"I agree. You have delt with a lot of stress over the past several years. Our people will be happy to support you in your debate in the council." Admiral Raan commented.

"And so will ours, Shepard," Wrex added.

"Thanks."

"Your council is more forgiving than our leaders back on our homeworld," Javik commented. "Had you been confronted with our leaders instead, they probably would have executed you if they had learned you had destroyed a Mass Relay and nearly a whole species in the process. Our leaders were never questioned, and if they were, it was only in a trial of battle."

"Thanks, Javik, for the reassertion. So, why are you all here anyways? I know you didn't come just to see me."

"The admiralty board is here to talk to the council about giving us an embassy and for aid in rebuilding our kind. It will be tough to compete with the other races for resources but we feel we still have a chance at getting some form of aid." Tali stated.

"Our people want to make peace with the galaxy by securing our diplomacy with the council and the other species. Our ancestors have faught for no good reason, and its time it ended." Wrex said.

"I'm here to represent the alliance and take care of some diplomatic business. Joker and Ashley will be here to lend me a bit of support." Admiral Hackett stated.

"Your asari here is going to present me to the council after your meeting is over to discuss about myself, I suppose. The council has a unusual interest in me." Javik hesistantly stated.

A announcement was made over the intercom:

"Spectre Shepard, please report to the council chambers at this time."

Shepard received a few good luck wishes and said his farewells before meeting up with the council in the council chambers.

"Shepard, we have reached a verdict in our final judgement for your actions at the Bahak relay," Councilor Quentius stated.

"In spite of your atrocities committed, we will not sentence you to death or enforce any other punishments upon you." Councilor Esheel stated. "Admiral Hackett will answer to us for the Bahak incident. You are cleared of all charges."

"However, you now have a choice at this point regarding your spectre status," Councilor Osoba stated. "You may either continue serving as a active spectre, become a inactive spectre, or retire."

As Councilor Osoba said these words out loud, the crowd below looked and listened closer. This was a big moment for everyone. What would Shepard, the savior of the galaxy, do now that the reaper threat is eliminated? Would he retire? Would he still serve? Or would he become inactive? The choice was his, and it attracted the curiosity of the crowd.

"If I become inactive? What happens to my status?"

"You will still have the services and most privleges available as a spectre," Councilor Quentius stated. "Additionally, you will not have to answer to the council unless you are either called back to active duty or your actions require us to seek answers from you. We will also give you inactive member bonuses for your efforts."

"And if I retire?"

"You will not have access to the services and privleges of a spectre council." Councilor Quentius responded. "However, your deeds and services will be recorded in spectre history. No other spectre has bested the accomplishments you have. Additionally, you will not be able to reapply for Spectre status, unless given approval from each ambassador of the citadel council. You will receive retirement bonuses, but they will not be as large as the inactive member bonuses."

Shepard now had enough information. It was time for him to decide. He knew what to do, and accepted the risks for doing so.

"I have decided. I will no longer continue as a active spectre, but will become inactive."

"Is this your final decision, Shepard?" Councilor Esheel asked.

"It is final." Shepard stated clearly.

"Then it is decided. You are now considered an inactive spectre by order of the citadel council." Councilor Irissa declared. "Details of your status will be explained in private. You are dismissed, Spectre Shepard."

"Thank you, councilor."

Shepard stepped outside just at the same time the crowd below did. It was over. He decided it was best to take a chance and become a inactive member of the citadel. The reapers were probably the greatest threat in the galaxy, and with many sacrifices, and the help of many others, he destroyed them. He felt that the odds of him being called back to duty were low, especially given that times are different now. As he walked down the steps to the central chamber, trying to avoid the crowds, there was one person that he couldn't quite avoid, but it didn't bother him in the slightest.

"I'm proud of you, Shepard." Tali went to give him a hug, to which he embraced her heartfully in response, and let go shortly after. "I just hope now, they won't have to call you back to active duty."

"I don't think they will. With the peace we've attained, I doubt they won't need to use spectres such as me again."

"I hope not. The galaxy can take care of itself now that the reapers are gone."

"So when does your Admiralty board meet up with the council?"

"When Liara is finished introducing Javik to the council."

"I hope you manage to get what you want. I think I should head back to the normandy. I would hate to be stuck here all day."

"When our meeting is finished with the council, I'll join you back on the normandy."

"I look forward to seeing you soon. Good luck."

"By the way, Shepard, what are we going to do now that you have your spectre status back?"

"Well, once we hit up a few locations to pick up some things, and assuming everything has gone well, we'll head back to Rannoch and have that beach party."

"I look forward to it. See you back on the normandy."

"Keelah Se'lai."

Shepard slipped through the crowds in the citadel and proceeded to board the normandy. As he was walking down the CIC, he noticed Garrus leaning against a wall, with a black widow propped up next to him.

"Shepard," Garrus blurted. "Good job on the citadel. I know you might not like the idea of getting called back for whatever reason the council wants to use, but for what it's worth, I think you made the right choice."

"Thanks Garrus."

"Though it makes me wonder, what are we going to do now that the war is over?"

"Well, that's up to you really, Garrus." Shepard scratched the back of his head as he said this. "Are you going to take care of any business on Palaven or do something else?"

"I thought about it for a bit. The idea of digging up rubble isn't what i'd want to do, and as long as my familys alright, there's no need to worry, as I keep in touch. I figured if anyone had a idea of what to do after the war, it's you."

"Have you ever thought of retiring? Going someplace?"

"Where else would I go?"

"Well...if I can talk Tali into it, maybe you could build a house next to ours on Rannoch. The food's dextro-based, there'll be plenty of sun, and its next to the beach."

"I gotta admit, between the heat and the cold, ill take the heat any day. But that doesn't mean I'll like it, Shepard."

"You remember that bar we talked about before our final assault on earth? Well, we're gonna celebrate on Rannoch near where our home is supposed to be built. It's a beach party. Beachside bar included. Drinks are on the house."

"Really, Shepard? All that sand just...well, for you, ill make an exception."

"What's the matter? Can't stand getting sand in your scales?"

"No, it's just...well, never mind."

"Don't sweat it, Garrus. The crew more than earned a break for their efforts in the war."

"We all did, Shepard. I'm just glad its really over."

"Carry on, Garrus."

Shepard went up to his quarters, and after a few hours of browsing through extranet data, found a few places where he could get a few housing and party supplies for their trip to Rannoch. He was now all set and awaited for the crew's return.


	9. Chapter 7: The Way of Dawn

The sound of the waves crashing on the beach of Rannoch relaxed Shepard. Tali'Zorah was sitting next to him in a beach chair, seemingly enjoying the atmosphere as well, and perhaps getting a suntan on her face. Joker was at the bar with EDI enjoying a drink, while Garrus, Liara and two other quarians were playing volleyball on the beach. It was perfect. It was reinvigorating. It was relaxing. However, Shepard noticed something, or rather some things approaching out of the water. Before he could get a fix on what they were though, suddenly something grabbed him from behind! It was cerberus! Cerberus was invading the beach! Shepard struggled to break out of the soldier's grip, but no matter what sort of techniques he used, he was powerless. He watched helplessly as all of his crew were shot down from the troopers on the beach and those emerging from the jungle behind Shepard. Garrus, Joker, EDI, Liara, every one of them he saw was shot and killed brutally and defenseless. Tali also was held and shortly afterwards, was fatally shot in the head by a cerberus soldier. Shepard's rage and sorrow peaked at the sight of this. Afterwords, his head tipped up as a cerberus soldier shouted at him, "You should have stayed dead, Shepard!" as the soldier pulled the trigger on his weapon he pointed at him.

Shepard woke up, screaming briefly. It was only a dream. He noticed that a sound of rapid beeping, like that of a cell phone, was coming from his desk. After pulling himself together, Shepard walked over to his desk and activated his private terminal. Apparently, he had a new message from the citadel council. Shepard opened up the message to read:

_Spectre Shepard,_

_We wish to explain your new status of being an inactive spectre. The council uses this status sparingly, and does not give it out lightly. Being an inactive spectre means that some of the privledges of being a spectre, such as access to spectre facilities for example, are not available to you. A full list of revoked and retained privledges are attached in this letter stated 'Spectre Section 8.11: Inactive spectre guidelines'. However, you are still above the law to some degree, and only answer to the council if you are called back to active duty or in response to any actions you have commited that have caught the attention of the council. In addition, you still have access to spectre intel as stated in 'Spectre Section 6.04: information management', but can only be accessed through devices granted for spectre use by the council, such as the device you are reading this e-mail on, for example._

_You are still highly encouraged to become a defender of peace within the galaxy. While your inactive status does grant you some degree of freedom, this freedom must not be abused, lest you lose your spectre status or suffer some sort of consequence handed out either by the council or from your inactions. The council has given you, for reasons either stated and/or not stated, this status. Use it well. Many people in the galaxy unknowingly depend on the protection of the spectres, and being a inactive spectre still carries its duties. Any information related to you or your spectre status will be relayed through this data device. Contact the council for any questions or requests through this device or by scheduling a meeting inside the council flagship._

_Citadel Council_  
_Enclosure: 'Spectre Section 8.11: Inactive spectre guidelines_

Shepard closed the e-mail and stared at the fish tank for a moment, not caring about the contents of the e-mail the council sent him. While he could look over the enclosure the council gave him to kill time, that didn't matter at this point. Shepard had the feeling that while he would be able to sleep better now that the war is over, the nightmares would still come back to haunt him. Nothing he could have done would have prepared him for what he would see or do in the past few years. He began to have doubts in himself, and wondered if he should see about seeking a mental health specialist to help ease the pain and torture his mind suffered. But his train of thought was interrupted when Joker came in through the loudspeaker:

"If there is a SPECTRE SHEPARD onboard the Normandy SR-2, could you please come down to the CIC? SPECTRE SHEPARD, to the CIC."

"Joker? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Well sir, I've been trying to get a hold of you for the last 10 minutes, but we weren't sure what happened to you."

"Really? Then don't worry about it Joker, I'll be right down."

Shepard stepped onto the elevator as he proceeded to the CIC deck. "Was this more than a nightmare?" he thought. But a answer would have to come later, as when the elevator door opened, his crew, as well as Admiral Hackett, Shepard's father, the quarian admiralty board and a few others were present, looking at him as he exited the elevator. The looks on their faces indicated they wanted answers on their future. But before Shepard could answer, Admiral Hackett began the conversation.

"Shepard. Are you doing ok?"

"I'm not sure. But im here now. Is there a reason you all are here?"

"Well, I'll start off first. Currently, the Normandy is still under your command, Spectre. We've looked up the books on Spectre law, and despite your inactive status, you still have the power to command ships such as this one. And to be honest, I couldn't think of a better person to command her than you. But just remember: The Normandy is still Alliance property, Shepard. The Normandy is a hell of a fine ship, and we could use her badly when we get the chance."

"I understand, Admiral."

"Do what you have to do with the ship, Shepard. But when your done taking command of it, it'll be back in Alliance hands, until you want her under your command again. We'll be busy doing a few missions with the normandy, so we would prefer you don't command it when she's busy, but if it's an important matter, well...the Alliance if not the galaxy has trust in you, Shepard."

"I'll be sure to take care of her, Admiral."

"Good. I have to go, Shepard." Admiral Hackett stepped out of the CIC as he proceeded to exit the normandy.

"I know the rest of you are looking for answers. And I'll give them to you: I'm retiring. I'm going to Rannoch to try and live out my days in peace. This war has made me damn frustrated, and I've faught long and hard for your right to live without a superior force such as the reapers to take it away from everyone. Your future is in your hands now. You can continue to serve onboard the Normandy, which is probably one of the best damn fine ships in the galaxy. All of you have proven yourselves worthy to be serving on this ship. Or you can leave, to do whatever you want with your lives as you wish. But don't forget: You helped to fight for our freedom to live. All of you made history by serving and fighting by my side. Don't be afraid to leave if you want to; you've earned a rest in doing so."

Shepard continued, "The ship will need to make a few stops before we head to Rannoch, so you'll have some time to make your own choice. But even when we get there, we'll have a week of vacation to celebrate. If you want to leave before or during the party, you can. If not, your welcome to stay here and continue working for the alliance. Are there any questions?"

After the crew merely stared at Shepard, Javik raised his hand.

"Yes Javik?"

"Will there be any mating rituals involved in this party?"

Most of the crew snickered, while some laughed at Javik's question. Joker rolled his eyes, EDI stared blankly into space, not getting the humor, Garrus shook his head at the floor, snickering in the process, Javik had a evil smile on his face, Samantha blushed slightly, and Tali facepalmed, secretly snickering under her helmet.

"That one's up to you. But try to keep it subtle if you decide. Anyone else?"

The laughter and snickering faded away as nobody else really had any questions for Shepard. They were sure about themselves and their future. After a brief period of silence, Shepard stated,

"Carry on."

As the crew went back to their positions, Admiral Raan approached Shepard.

"Commander Shepard..."

"It's not commander anymore, Admiral, it's just Shepard now."

"Yes, excuse me Shepard. Can we have a moment with you in the war room? We would like to discuss your housing situation on Rannoch with Tali."

"Certainly, id be happy to."

Shepard, Tali and the admiralty board members proceeded through the security checkpoint into the war room. On their way there, Admiral Korris remarked on the unique humor that Javik had, to which the others agreed. In addition, Shepard also noticed the absence of Admiral Gerrel, to which Admiral Raan responded that he was under arrest and detained for treason due to his acts in the reaper invasion. Finally, the group arrived in the war room, and Admiral Raan proceeded to display a hologram of Rannoch to Shepard.

"We have been doing some research and investigation on where we should settle our houses on the homeworld. With the help of the geth, and based on suggestions from our members of the board, we have decided to settle our houses here, on the southern continent." The hologram of Rannoch zoomed in to a location on the southern half of the continent. It indicated a area rich of jungle terrain, with a few cliffs here and there, a river, and a ocean boarding the jungle, the beach sandwiched in-between. "The house that you and Tali'Zorah will live in will be located right here." Admiral Raan pointed to a dot on a map that was close to the ocean.

"I see. Has there been any progress made on the construction of these houses?"

"Yes, Shepard." Admiral Raan replied, "The basic structure of your house has been planned, and the foundation has been dug. Tali'Zorah has the plans on her omni-tool; I suggest that you review the plans with her so that we can come up with the final plans soon. The geth, as well as some of our quarian workers, will assist with construction; we estimate that the basic structure of your house will take a week to build. Any extra features that you would like on your house will be up to you, and will no doubt require extra time to build properly."

"Are you sure your house is built on a reliable foundation? I would hate for it to be built only for a hurricane or tornado to sweep it away."

"Hurricane?" Admiral Raan questioned.

"Tornado?" Admiral Xen pondered.

"Let me rephrase that; has there been any extreme weather in this area in the past couple of decades?"

"The geth have studied our climate extensively, and have concluded that no unusual or extreme weather phenomena has occured in the last 200 years." Admiral Raan responded. "In addition, they also state that the weather climate there is tropical, and ideal for organics. They have covered everything from wildlife to climate with their studies."

"Sounds good. Is there anything else?"

"There is one more thing I would like to state," Admiral Raan replied in a unique tone of choice. "On behalf of the admiralty board, we would like to thank you for helping us reclaim our homeworld back. Not only that, but you helped bring peace among our people. We have negociated with the geth further and have been able to secure not only peace, but rights for their people as well. The geth have evolved from being mere machines."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I am glad as well," Admiral Xen added. "While I wanted to push further with studying the geth further to gain more out of their technology, they somehow convinced me that they were intelligent beings that deserved to be treated better than just toys. I was lucky they were even able to allow me to conduct experiments on their technology. Under certain guidelines, of course."

"I knew from the beginning peace was possible. You helped open that door, Shepard. It did more than just save our people; it made us better," Admiral Korris stated.

"We would have been wrong to try and exterminate the geth completely. Thank you, commander, for doing a great service to the quarian people and guiding us in the right direction." Admiral Raan approached Shepard closer and opened her arms slightly, as if expecting a hug. "What is this?" Shepard thought to himself. He looked over to Tali, expecting a response. She nooded her hed yes, indicating that it was alright to hug Admiral Raan. Shepard approached closer to Admiral Raan, and they both hugged each other.

Admiral Raan had a tear roll down her eye; Her people finally had a homeworld to return to, thanks to Shepard. In addition, the war between the geth and the quarians was finally over; no more of her people would die to the geth because of a error in judgement that started many, many years ago, and they wouldn't have to live on spaceships that were falling apart for the rest of their lives. Nor would they have to be burdened with the life support of their suits for all of their lifes once they finally adapt to the climate on their world. Admiral Shala'Raan was happy that Shepard undid the wretched shackles the quarian people have suffered for the past 300 years and that Rael'Zorah's daughter had a caring, loving husband to help take care of her and lead her in the right direction. She was more proud than words could ever describe. It was a happy moment.

When Shepard and Raan finished their hug, Admiral Raan added, "It is an honor for you to make Rannoch your new home. A hero such as yourself will inspire our people for years to come."

"Thank you Admiral. I look forward to making Rannoch my new home."

"This meeting is now over. Kee'lah Se'lai."

And with that, the Admiralty Board, save for Tali, left the war room and departed from the normandy. Tali and Shepard left the war room together as they had a talk on the way to the galaxy map.

"The Admirals really appreciate all of your work in helping our people, Shepard. And I do too."

"I thought it was odd that Admiral Raan wanted to give me a hug. Is it that unusual in your society to see something like that?"

"You did a lot for our people, Shepard. Now that I step back and think about it, I guess you could say it is unusual, but not unexpected. You gave our people not only a home, but also made peace with one of the galaxy's most feared enemies. Now they're on our side for good, and the quarians will benefit from them greatly."

"Your people didn't deserve the sterotypes and fate they faced. I had to do something." Shepard and Tali stopped by the door before the security checkpoint. "I didn't want your people to live in ships that were always falling apart for the rest of your lives, Tali. That's no way for a species to live."

"Your right, Shepard. And I think you. So, much. I'm glad your coming with me to live on Rannoch. I couldn't think of a better place for you."

"Let's hope the admiral was right about it being an ideal place for organics." Shepard stated in a playful tone.

"Well, you know how the geth can be, there might be a 200 or 1000 year old storm that might come by and blow the house down." Tali replied playfully.

"There better not be. Id hate to have our house crashing down on us 2 days after we build it. All that hard work..."

"Don't worry. We'll be prepared for the worst, Shepard. The geth put some superior quality into their worksmanship."

"I guess so. Well, that beach party isn't going to set itself up, Tali. We better go pick up some supplies. And I know just the place."

"Where at?"

"You'll see."

Shepard and Tali entered the door to the security checkpoint. After passing through, Shepard walked up to the galaxy map. Tali eagerly awaited Shepard's command to Joker.

"Joker," Shepard ordered, "I'm plotting a course for Illium."

"Aye, aye, sir."


	10. Chapter 8: The Journey Ahead

"Illium?" Tali asked in surprise.

"It's still the best trading colony out there. The reapers did invade, but most of the damage was minimal. I guess even the reapers can't stop the 'legal' trading that goes on there."

"I do hope you know what your doing, Shepard."

"Even if I did buy something illegal, im still a spectre to some degree. They won't mess around with that."

"Hmm...I guess they won't."

A few moments later, the normandy finally caught sight of the Illium colony. Even Joker could see some of the many ships coming in and out of this place; it was packed. Apparently, word of mouth through the extranet and from others spread fast about this place still being operational, and with the reaper war over, the citadel destroyed, and most of the planets suffering heavy damage, what better place to relieve your stress and buy supplies than Illium? As the normandy approached Illium, Joker asked Shepard on the intercom:

"Alright, Shepard, we're almost there. Shall I have the control tower send a shuttle to our docking location?"

"Sure thing, Joker. We've got a few places to go anyways."

"Aye aye, sir."

"In the meantime, we should look over the information about your house, Tali."

"Exactly, Shepard." Tali activated her omni-tool and sent her housing data to Shepard. Shepard projected the display of Tali's house to Shepard; it was kinda unique to look at. The house had a industrial feel to it; the main building constisted of a hexagonal dome on top, with steep sloped walls going down below it. There were three other main buildings that surrounded the main one, two of which appeared to have second stories, one of which had only one floor. All of these buildings were more square than the main building. But that's not what Shepard was focused on; he was looking at the list of features the house included.

Tali's house featured a large kitchen, a master bedroom with 2 other bedrooms and guest quarters, a dining room, a game room, a living room, 3 bathrooms, a finished basement with several rooms, a elevator system, and several other features. There were also numerous appliances and other pieces of furniture, as well as both a elevator and stair system that led to the beach below. But, there was something missing...

"Where's the pool at?"

"Pool?" Tali was curious. But, given that she didn't know much about what humans had for house features, it was totally understandable.

"Yeah, you know, something to swim in? It's good exercise and a great feature to have, if you can keep up with the maintenance."

"But we have the beach though, right?"

"Sure. But...I'll have to expand on it a bit later. Trust me when I say this will be a great feature to add for our house."

"Hmmm..." Tali purred.

"By the way, did you ever happen to find anything on the supply ships the floatilla had?"

"They only had the supplies to build the house and supply the furniture you saw on that list. I didn't see anything else there."

"I see. Feel free to tell the Admirals to finialize the plans and begin construction, I'm sure the house will turn out great." Tali forwarded the finalization plan of the house to the Admiralty Board.

Tali and Shepard donned their armor on and after arming themselves, they waited by the cockpit for approximately half an hour. They didn't have to arm themselves to the teeth like before, but they still needed some defense in case things turned sour. Shepard and Tali watched the approach to Illium as Joker and EDI were navigating the normandy; it was a beautiful sight. Even from a distance, they could see the damage the reapers have done to the colony, but when that was ignored, the city's faint pink glow along with the giant skyscrapers dominated the view. Ships, crusiers, and even shuttles were flying by Joker as he began the final approach to the docking clamps. After about 20 minutes, the normandy finally docked at Illium, and the airlock gave off a hiss to indicate that it was ok to step out into Illium.

As Tali and Shepard stepped off the normandy, a asari pilot greeted them.

"Welcome to Illium! Which destination do you wish to travel to today?"

"Take us to the luxury design wards."

"Yes sir."

Tali and Shepard boarded the shuttle in the back seats that took them to the luxury design wards. These wards contained many shops for expensive but yet quality house products for all sorts of housing needs, including pool products. The back of the shuttle was somewhat dark, making Tali's mask glow nicely in the dark; for Shepard, it was a beautiful sight to look at, especially since Shepard could see the lovely woman behind that mask in his own mind. As they played handsies and sat close to each other, 10 minutes passed quickly, and the shuttle finally arrived. They got out, and Shepard tipped the driver as they left.

Shepard and Tali walked out of the shuttle area to enter the shopping wards. Their first stop was at a pool store. Here, they looked at a few large pool models, and after doing some arguing, purchased a huge indoor wave pool with various tropical plants and decorations, as well as a clean room covering the pool and a pool filter. Shepard paid the sales clerk 585,738 credits, to which Tali forwarded the pool design plans to the geth builders on Rannoch and to which Shepard had the pool and indoor parts delivered to the normandy. Next, they stopped at a home fashions store not too far away. Surprisingly, they were not in there for long, nor did Tali choose purple as her dominant color; they mostly shopped for useful products and a few exquisite decorations. When they were finished, Shepard paid the sales clerk 23,768 credits and was given free shipping to their products on the normandy for their purchase.

Shepard and Tali took a shuttle to go to another section. He noticed that Tali was a bit happier than normal, probably because she only had very few opportunities to get what she wanted; most of the time, she was lucky to get what she needed. Shepard had a bit of a smile on his face as well, because he also got to get the things he wanted with Tali. This shuttle trip was a bit shorter than the last, and as usual, Shepard tipped the driver when he left. When Shepard and Tali were walking to a arcade store to buy a few machines there, Shepard noticed his father looking out into the sunset. He changed his course to meet up with him and the two of them joined Shepard's father in watching the sunset as the two Shepards engaged in a conversation.

"Enjoying the sunset?"

"Ah yes, son. I've never traveled outside earth before, and this is rather unique. The normandy, space, this planet, it's all something I can't even begin to describe."

"There's a lot of things out there in the galaxy. Some of it's good, some of it's bad. Me and Tali were here at Illium once. Had some business to do. It's a nice place, but the people who lead this place are just as shady as people you would find in a bad part of town on earth."

"Really? I guess some things never change, no matter where you go."

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

"I've been thinking a bit, son. Maybe staying on earth isn't what I want to do now. Maybe...I want to be someplace else. But where? I'm still not sure. I'm definately not a military man, and as much as I would like to be on a different planet, I just don't think it will be the same."

"It's always a risk, no matter how you look at it. If you go to the military, you might not make it out alive. If you go to a different planet, your at the mercy of them. If you head back to earth, you don't get to see the different things out here. But don't worry about it too much father. You still have time."

"Your right, son. I'll have to think about it. When this week of yours is over, ill have a answer for you then."

"Just think about it and let me know when your ready."

"Is it worth the risk, son?"

Shepard actually had to think about it for a moment. But as he began to do so, he looked over to Tali. And then thought about their memories together. Not only was it worth it for Tali, but also for Garrus, Liara, retaking Rannoch, saving the quarians, and much more. Shepard then answered:

"The reward of making a difference in the galaxy is worth the risk, father. Believe me."

Dyson and his son nodded at each other as Shepard and Tali walked away to the arcade store to pick out a couple of machines for their game room. Shepard looked at some of the vintage, old and new human arcade machines out there, while Tali looked at some of the virtual machines the quarians had made, as well as some of the asari and human designs of arcade games. After looking over their favorite machines they wanted to buy, they both purchased a few virtual, pinball, shoot 'em and beat 'em up machines, among a few other ones, for a staggering 342,648 credits that Shepard paid for. As they walked out of the store, they wondered just how packed it was beginning to get in the normandy's shuttle bay. They wouldn't be surprised now if Joker began to complain because all of the cargo in the shuttle bay was throwing off the Normandy's balance. They might not even be able to close the shuttle bay all of the way with how much stuff they might get; they might have to take off with the shuttle bay being decompressed the whole trip, the contents inside being exposed to the cold vaccum and element of space. All while this was going on, EDI would complain to Joker that the airlock in the shuttle bay was ajar every minute.

At this point, 4 hours had passed in their shopping trip. Shepard then asked Tali,

"Hey Tali, I've got a few things I need to get, and it might take up quite a bit of time. Do you mind splitting up while I catch up on the rest of the stuff I need to get?"

"Sure. I'm going to take a look around and see what else I can find."

"Good idea. Keep in radio contact and let me know if you need anything."

"Keelah Se'lai, Shepard."

They both walked away, neither of them realising that the other was secretly going to buy a few things for each other as either gifts or for their relationship. Shepard went over to a jewelery store not too far away to look at exquisite rings for Tali. He wanted to get Tali something that looked really great, but yet had versitality. As Shepard passed the display cases full of diamond and other very rare rings that shined brightly, he was unimpressed at what he saw. Not being impressed at what he saw, he began to leave the store. But as he left, Shepard stopped dead in his tracks. In a 5 tier glass display case, a rather unique necklace was displayed. It was a titanium necklace with a large clear diamond in the center, a purple diamond to the left of the center diamond and a blue diamond to the right of the center diamond. The necklace shined brightly in the display light. When Shepard read the description, it stated:

_Necklace of St. Alexia_

_This necklace is a custom-made titanium necklace, modeled after the legendary necklace worn by St. Alexia of the Thessia combine religious order. The legends state that whenever St. Alexia needed to see the future, she would rub this necklace and visions would appear to her through the gems of this necklace. While this necklace cannot forsee the future as the legends state, when touched, it can show random pictures or play video through the gems you see here. _

_Material: Titanium, with clear and colorered diamonds made out of flawless material._

_Type: Necklace_

_Other notes: Can support 2 terabytes of video and/or picture data. Touch can be customized greatly. Uploaded through wireless transmission. See dealer for more information._

_Price: 43,760 credits_

Shepard was a bit shocked at the price of this necklace. But he thought to himself, "Tali will love having something like this." Shepard thought about this for a moment. Would this be the gift he would present to Tali for their marrage? He wanted to give Tali something extravagant, yet useful. And this could very well fit the bill. But yet, it wasn't a ring. Tradition would state that a man would give a woman a wedding ring as a vow of marriage. However, when Shepard thought outside the box, he realized that the relationship he was in wasn't typical or ordinary. It was a special kind that words couldn't describe. Why bother with tradition when you can do things your own way? He thought that it wouldn't matter what Shepard gave Tali, whether it be a onion ring from some intergalatic fast food resturant that they ate at or this necklace; they had and loved each other so much that while property mattered, their souls had the greatest value, and they both had each others soul in their possession. Shepard then made up his mind and purchased the Necklace of St. Alexia for a staggering 43,760 credits, and after having a nice display box included for free, stashed it away in his armor.

The next location Shepard stopped by was a weapons store that sold shotguns and accessories for shotguns. Shepard looked at all of the weapon designs he saw on the wall; most of them were unimpressive models, while a few were shotguns he already had back on the normandy. He wanted to get Tali a gift while he was here for either a celebration or her birthday. Shepard then saw a rather unique shotgun called the 'XM-40'. This shotgun was a fully automatic shotgun that used multiple thermal clips bunched together in a case to support the amount of firepower it could put out in a short period of time. It had a breach barrel at the end, with a carry handle at the top that doubled as firing sights, a grip at the bottom, a round cylinder in the middle, with the case that held the thermal clips near the back next to the trigger guard. Shepard looked at a few shotgun modifications as well; the two that caught his attention was a thermal clip converter that allows the clip to cool down without exchanging clips, as well as pellet converters that allow the shotgun to fire different types of pellets on the field. Shepard decided to buy the XM-40 as well as the two shotgun mods for 52,768 credits.

In the meantime, while Shepard was busy shopping for Tali, Tali decided to buy a few things in private for Shepard. The first place she went to was an explosives shop. Shepard LOVED to blow up things whenever he was out, and what better way to please him than to buy explosives? Ah, but Tali wanted to do more than buy explosives, she wanted to create a rather special weapon for Shepard. Tali wanted to build a compact weapon that was capable of firing incredably powerful rounds that were explosive and very powerful. Using some geth technology and ideas from Admiral Xen, she had the ideas for a prototype, and now all she needed were some testing materials. Tali purchased a variety of fusion power cells needed in certain explosives for 24,369 credits. In addition, she also purchased a variety of explosives for Shepard at a mere 9,591 credits. Normally, Tali would be unable to purchase products such as these, but because of her status as a admiral, she could legally purchase it. To finish this purchase, Tali went to a gunsmith to purchase ultra-lightweight yet durable metals to make this weapon for 6,451 credits.

After Tali got the materials to make her prototype weapon for Shepard, she began to walk over towards a model ship store to see what kind of model ships Shepard might be interested in as a gift. On her way there though, she surprisingly came across Garrus sitting outside a bench overlooking the view of the Illium sunset, with a Black Widow propped up next to him. Tali decided to take a seat next to Garrus and talk to him:

"Hey Garrus. How are you doing?"

"Oh nothing, just sitting on my ass here thinking about what I want to do next."

"Got anything in mind?"

"Well, there is one thing I thought of, but im not sure how you would react to it; How would you feel about me living next to you on Rannoch?"

Tali got a bit nervous at this thought, but slightly excited at the same time. "Oh, well, that depends. Are you really interested in building a house next to ours?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure where I would go now that this war is over and things are different. I thought maybe I would move in near my family, but to be honest, I think I would rather keep my distance from them. Besides, you and Shepard are really the only people I can trust outside of family."

"Well, if your interested, nobody is really next to the land we own, I bet I could make room for you. Im not too sure about the housing materials though, you might have to come up with a few things on your own, but I think the admirals would be happy to let you make Rannoch your new home."

"Thanks for the offer, Tali. I hope you keep it in mind. I think i'll play it smart in the meantime and wait until I get to Rannoch again before im certain, but if I am, don't worry about the housing. It wouldn't feel right to have a Turian living in quarian architecture anyways."

"And what's that supposed to mean, Garrus!"

Garrus chuckled at Tali, "Nothing, nothing, forget I said that."

"Well, I'll put in a request to the admiralty board and see if they approve it. I can't see why they wouldn't, but I will just in case. How are you going to get housing materials anyways?"

"Let's just say a few people owe me some favors."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"So what are you up to, Tali? It seems kinda odd that you're all alone without Shepard."

"Shepard had some things to buy that were kinda out of the way. He suggested we split up. But he doesn't realize that im really getting a few things in private for him."

Garrus had a feeling Shepard was doing the same thing for Tali, but didn't comment on it. "And what exactly are you getting him anyways?"

"Well, I figured id pick up a few explosives and gun parts for a prototype."

"That's exactly what Shepard needs Tali, another gun to play around with," Garrus joked.

"Funny, Garrus. I was going to head up to a model store to see what kind of ships he would like as a gift, but..."

"Wait a minute, your going to buy him toy ships? No, no, Tali, that's not a way to get Shepard a gift. What you need to do is get him something big and useful. Not some toy ships that he'll end up smashing one day."

Tali crossed her arms at Garrus's comment. "Well what do you suggest I get him, then?"

Garrus stood up and turned to Tali. "There's a store not too far away from here that sells a variety of omni-weapons. I've seen some of the two-handed weapons there and they're impressive. Let me show you."

Garrus compacted his black window onto his back and walked with Tali to the omni-weapons store. Inside, they had a variety of omni-weapons on display. They ranged from simple swords and daggers to more impressive bludgeoning and two-handed weapons. In addition, they also had the omni-tool weapon designs on sell here. Most of the omni-weapons had more than one design, as seen on the picture descriptions next to the weapons. One particular weapon caught Tali's eye; it was a large two-handed omni-greatsword with a blade that had a rather nasty design to it; getting hit by this would leave nasty wounds on the victim, and it was a rather powerful weapon, capable of a variety of modifications and could be one handed as well at the flick of a wrist. While the hilt had a fairly plain design, it made up for its usefulness and power. Unfortunately, when Tali looked at the price tag for this omni-weapon, she didn't have the 12,359 credits to purchase this weapon, or at least, the personal funds. When Garrus studied Tali's reaction of putting her hand towards her chin, he knew what the problem was.

"Don't worry about paying for it Tali, I've got you covered. Brother and sister watching out for each other and doing favors for them, right?"

"I guess so, Garrus. Thanks." Tali winked at Garrus as she baught the weapon. She stashed the hilt inside her suit and went with Garrus to a wine shop, to purchase some Turian brandy and a few other drinks for Shepard. While on their way, Tali chatted with Garrus to pass the time.

"So where are we going now, Tali?"

"Oh, I figured id head to a wine shop and pick up some alcohol to celebrate getting back to the homeworld. It's been a little over a month, Garrus."

"That's a good idea. I had a bottle of some antique Turian rum that I never quite managed to drink at all for some reason. It's been doing nothing more than taking up room ever since I took it with me. I've had it ever since Shepard picked me up from Omega."

"You've never drank it at all? Why not?"

"Didn't find time to do so. Plus, I would probably drink the whole bottle if I did, which would mean I would be drunk for days. And considering what I was going through at the time, I didn't have days to sober up."

"So you get drunk pretty quickly then, Garrus? I know Shepard sometimes does that, he'll drink and he'll drink and he'll drink till he falls flat on his ass. Then I have to intervene and get him back on his feet. I swear sometimes I ought to yell at him for drinking so much, but lately he's been keeping it under control."

"Heh, yeah. I remember when he tried to drink some krogan brandy once; we had to take him into the bathroom because he passed out and he ended up puking his guts out in the toliet. He sure likes to charge into what he's doing, even if he's being dumb about it."

"So do you plan on ever drinking that turian rum?"

"You know, its probably easier if I just give it to you, Tali. Save that one for something special Tali. It's pretty rare."

Tali thought about what Shepard said to her in the hospital about marrage and realized that would be the perfect time, if they decide to have a wedding. "Sure, Garrus. Thanks a lot."

"Don't mention it."

They finally arrived at the wine store, but not before somebody else beat it to them. Shepard was inside the store shopping when he looked over his shoulder to notice Garrus and Tali walking towards them. He put down a bottle that he was looking it and walked over to them.

"Shepard!"

"Tali. Garrus. How are you two doing?"

"Alright, I suppose, Tali came across me as I was sitting down looking at the sunset earlier and making some calibrations."

"I've been doing good, Shepard. I was just picking up some supplies for the fleet. I figured id head over to a wine store and pick up a few drinks for us, but you beat us to it. Care if we join?"

"Sure, I could always use Garrus's company any day. And yours as well, Tali."

"Thanks!"

Shepard, Tali and Garrus looked over the wine collections and picked out a few bottles, some for drinking, some for celebrating, and others just for the heck of it. Shepard paid 250 credits for a bunch of bottles, and like most every other order they placed, it was shipped back to the normandy for free. As they exited the store, they noticed the sun had set and darkness was creeping in. The sky was beginning to glow blue from the illumination of all the nightclubs and other such lights that dotted Illium. Shepard then stated,

"Alright, we've got one more store to go, and that's the party emporium," Shepard stated. "At least I wont have to stop by any other colonies to pick up supplies, I think we've got everything we wanted to get here."

"Never underestimate the trading colony of the galaxy, Shepard." Garrus responded. They went over to the party emporium, which was a big warehouse stocked with a large selection of party goods, buildings, devices, and a whole lot of other things that people set up for parties. Shepard picked up a portable bar with stools, a portable pool, some beach equipment for fun, a variety of dextro and non-dextro party foods, and all of the other essential party supplies for 14,376 credits.

The group was finally done shopping. Shepard called up a shuttle for them to head back to the normandy. When the shuttle arrived, Tali sat on the left, with Shepard next to Tali and Garrus next to Shepard. Shepard and Tali sat close to each other, exchanging hand movements, as well as softly stroking each others back. Tali was happy that she got to buy a bunch of stuff with Shepard, and get a few gifts that he doesn't know about as well, as was Shepard. Garrus just sat to the side, shaking his head at the thought of the two of them being all romantic and such. Sometimes the two of them would drive Garrus crazy. The glow of Tali's helm at nighttime and in the dark shuttle provided a small bit of illiumination that was fascinating to look at. Finally, the shuttle arrived at the normandy's docking port. The three of them left the shuttle, and once again, Shepard tipped the driver on his way out. Finally, after a few hours of shopping on Illium, they were back on the normandy.


	11. Chapter 9: Calming Night

As the trio stepped into the normandy, Shepard noticed that Joker and EDI were not in the cockpit. He wondered if they were in the ship or out partying on Illium. As Tali and Garrus stepped into the elevator to take care of other things, Shepard walked around the CIC to talk to some of the crew. He first talked to Samantha Traynor, who was managing a few communications:

"Comm...Sorry, Shepard, I must say I am looking forward to this beach party on Rannoch. Thanks for giving us some time off, I do appreciate it."

"No problem. So have you thought about what you'll do now that this war is over? You seem to enjoy your job here."

"Yes, actually, I do. Serving onboard the normandy and with you is an honor. I've served aboard a few ships, but the normandy is one I'll always remember. She's a marvel of ship design if you ask me."

"How do you think the crew is reacting to my retirement, and the fact that im not a commander anymore?"

"Well, I won't lie sir, a lot of us still have a habit of calling you commander, even though your not with the alliance anymore. It's something I think the crew will need to work out. Some of the crew is thinking about leaving to persue their own interests, while others, such as myself, will probably stay here."

"It's probably a little difficult on everyone, now that things are changing. Have you heard about who's going to command the Normandy when I leave?"

"Nope, I haven't heard about who's going to command it yet. I think the alliance is keeping it hushed up at the moment, but it could also be because they're busy trying to clean up the mess they've made after the war. The citadel recently punished the alliance for their black ops raid by taking away our aid and some of our political positions on the citadel."

"Ouch, I guess that serves them right for what they did though. No offense, of course."

"None taken."

"I have to go."

"See you, Shepard."

Shepard went around to the other decks, talking to the crew on board and getting their responses from them. Engineer Adams is planning on staying with the normandy, as he knows the ship and enjoys serving with the best. Garrus enlightened Shepard on his conversation with Tali and is beginning to lean a bit towards living on Rannoch now that he's had a little time to think about it. Some of the minor crew members plan on leaving the alliance for other work or just staying. Before Shepard went back up to his cabin, he looked out of the cargo bay window and noticed that it was packed. The huge indoor wave pool they purchased took up the most space, while their household decorations and other supplies they purchased lined up next to the pool supplies. One thing was for certain: Joker is going to notice that the normandy handles a bit differently now that they have all that cargo in tow.

Shepard took the elevator up to the captain's cabin. When he walked down the steps, he was about to sit on the corner of his bed when he noticed Tali sitting on the corner couch, with two glasses and a bottle of alcohol on the coffee table. He noticed her and immediately took a seat next to her.

"Hey Tali. It's good to see you here."

"Glad to hear it. Thanks for taking me out to do some shopping, Shepard. I've never gotten all that I've wanted before in my life. It makes me feel great."

"Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I did too." Shepard put her hand on Tali's as they began to get closer with each other.

"Are you alright? I'm looking in your eyes and I can see something, but im not sure."

"I had another nightmare when I was taking a nap. When will the nightmares end, Tali? I've already faught and lost so much."

"We all have, Shepard. I have nightmares too sometimes."

"You do?"

"Yeah." Tali sat in Shepard's lap, to which Shepard braced her back with her hand and held her. "Sometimes, when I fall asleep, I have nightmares about the past. Sometimes it would be about Saren. Other times, when I failed to keep my team alive on Haestrom. Things are hard on me too, Shepard, especially being an admiral and all. At one point, I was thinking about getting some help from a quarian psychologist because my nightmares became more frequent. But then, you came along."

"Me?"

"Yes. When you arrived to help us, and when I saw you at the war room, I knew things would get better. You always make my life better, Shepard. Nobody else could have done more for me."

"Probably the most disturbing part wasn't the nightmare itself, but what happened after. Apparently, Joker had tried to reach me for 10 minutes, and I didn't wake up. Normally, if Joker calls out for me over the intercom, I usually wake up, even if its not what I want. But my body's never ignored intercom calls until now. Im not sure what's wrong with me."

"We just need each other, Shepard. I don't think there's anything we can do about the nightmares we have. This war has given us both a lot of scars. But as long as we have each other, nothing can bring us down. That's what matters the most."

"Your right, Tali. Thanks."

"I braught us one of the drinks we baught up from the shuttle bay. Care to have a drink with me?"

"With you? Always."

Tali proceeded to open up the bottle and pour a drink for both herself and Shepard. She put a emergency induction port in her drink and said, "I filtered the entire bottle, so there's no need to worry about me getting sick. I think this one is for the homeworld. May it give us a shelter of peace and comfort."

"Here, here." Tali and Shepard clacked glasses as they had their first toast. Tali poured a drink for herself and gave Shepard an emergency induction port.

"This onnne is for uss. May we love and be happy with each other foreverrr."

"That we will." Shepard put his str...emergency induction port in Tali's drink and they both shared a toast with each other. Shepard looked to see what kind of alcohol Tali braught for him and realized she braught one of the bottles of Turian Brandy she baught on Illium. The two of them shared a few more drunken toasts before engaging in drunken banter.

"So, you said your father would hate me if he was al *hic* alive?"

"Ohhh, he would hate you sooooo much. He wouldn't believeee that I was dating a disqqqusting human. He would have shot you if he couldd."

"Good thing he's dead then."

"I think I would have threeew him ou the airlok if he was still allliv on the al...al...oh, I don't kno wot it was culled."

"The Alerei."

"Riiight, that." Tali pointed her finger at Shepard, or at least tried, as she said this. "I con't believe you hugged Admerel Raaaan!"

"Well, you did nod yes at me. I didn't know why she wonted to hug me, but I did."

"I thiiink she has a croush on you. I think she vants to have you, Shepard."

"Well, I've got you, so she's out of luck."

"I think YOU have a croush on herrr, Shepeeerd."

"No I don't. If anything, I think I might break her hips if I dared tried. I have you. Nobody else can do."

"YOU VOT? I can't beleave...ooooh, nevermind. Here, I'll make ourrr next tooost to admerel Raan. I'm sore she wo..." As Tali talked, she proceeded to pour brandy into her glass, but dropped the bottle and spilled a bit of brandy on the coffee table from both the bottle and the glass. "Oh Boshe'Cheat."

At this point, Shepard decided Tali had too much. She needed to sober up, and he didn't want her to break any glasses, so Shepard picked Tali up and laid her down in the bed, reassuring her. "It's ok Tali, don't worry about it. Just...have a little sleep." Shepard wrapped the blankets around Tali and set her head on the pillow softly as he crawled into bed with her and cuddled with her while they fell asleep.

Shepard woke up in the middle of the night, with Tali doing so a few moments later. Tali moved around a bit to realize she was in bed with Shepard. She turned her head to find Shepard looking at her.

"Hey, hon." Tali started the conversation with in a whisper.

"You ok?" Shepard whispered back.

"I have a bit of a headache, but im fine."

"Do you...remember anything?"

"Once we started having drinks, my memory got fuzzy." Tali then asked in a playful voice, "You don't really have a thing for Admiral Raan, do you?"

"No, of course not."

"Ah, I figured it was the brandy messing me up."

"I have you, Tali. There's no other woman that could come closer to my heart than you."

"And there's no other man who could do so much for me than you."

"Thanks." Shepard stroked the side of Tali's helmet, feeling her soft cloth on her helmet. Tali then grabbed his hand, and they both played handsies with each other. Eventually, they embraced each other and fell into a blissful sleep as the Illium night wore on.


	12. Chapter 10: Homecoming

The morning sun rose in the skyline of Illium. Eventually, it worked it's way into the skylight in Shepard's cabin, basking Tali and Shepard in beautiful sunlight. After 2 hours of bathing in both the sunlight and blissful sleep, Shepard and Tali stirred and woke up.

"Morning hon."

"Morning Tali. Enjoy your sleep?"

Tali moaned a bit, then answered, "Ohh yes. I wish I had more."

"I think we can arrange for a bit more sleep, Miss Vas Normandy." Shepard reached over to his omni-tool and reached Joker. "Joker, is all of the crew accounted for?"

"Aye, aye, sir."

"Set a course for Rannoch. I'm transmitting you some landing coordinates. We're done shopping."

"Will do, sir."

Shepard laid back down and went back to snuggling Tali. "So," Tali asked, "We're finally coming home."

"Yes we are Tali. We're finally coming home to Rannoch. How do you feel?"

"I can't wait to get there, Shepard. But, maybe we should spend some time under the covers first?"

"With pleasure." And with that, Shepard wrapped the sheets over himself and Tali'Zorah as they proceeded to snuggle together in warm sleep. In the meantime, while Shepard and Tali were intimately sleeping, Joker piloted the normandy out of the busy skyline in Illium. It took a long time though, because today was even more busy than usual for some odd reason. The waiting was killing Joker, as he just wanted to leave Illium. Joker cracked a few jokes about how bad the asari were at flying ships and how it's amazing they stay in business with how tied up all the traffic is. EDI helped to keep Joker's sanity by asking him questions about things in general as well as if they enjoyed partying at one of Illium's nightclubs last night.

Finally, after an hour and a half of waiting, they had both the ground clearance and the space to fly out of Illium. The normandy graced through the sky and left the atmosphere towards the Mass Relay in the local system. As the normandy was flying towards the Mass Relay, Tali finally stirred in her sleep and woke up, Shepard following suit. They proceeded to take care of the usual business, in addition to cleaning up last night's mess on the coffee table, while talking to each other.

"Hey Tali. Feel better?"

"Much, thanks to you."

"Have you thought about the things you wanted to do in our party today?"

"Well, besides having a few drinks and enjoying the ocean? Maybe play some, what do you call it? Volleyball? With the crew."

"I was thinking maybe we could take a little dive into the ocean. You know, to explore it, and maybe look at the beauty deep in the sea?"

"Hmm. I actually like that idea. How are you going to stay underwater?"

"By wearing a spacesuit. Only for the dive though."

"I see."

"I wonder if the geth started building our house yet?"

"They've started the basics of our house, nothing special. You don't need to worry though, we'll have a house to live in when this vacation is over."

"I'm gonna miss the Normandy. She's a damn good ship. Wish we could keep her."

"Which version of the ship did you like, Shepard?"

"I don't know, I think the first one stood out in my mind. Fast, small, powerful, she was a beauty. I miss the old girl."

"The first ship was alright, and as much as I hate to admit it, the second one was great as well. Cerberus knows how to build their ships. But did we really need that scanner to the war room? It does bring back a few unpleasent memories of my pilgrimage."

"Well, I could understand if it could tell whether you were indoctrinated or not, but otherwise, I agree. At least it was fast though."

"But not fast enough for me."

"I guess not." Shepard joked, "What is fast enough for you?"

"Well...You can be at times."

Shepard chuckled at Tali's response. "Really, Tali? You better not tell anyone else that."

"Well, you should have told me that earlier, the whole admiralty board knows!"

Shepard's face had a shocking reaction as Tali told him this. But, to reassure him, Tali then stated, "That was a joke." in EDI's tone of voice. Shepard merely smiled and shook his head at Tali's private joke. Tali truly was one of a kind for him.

As Tali and Shepard finished preparing for the day, they took the elevator down to the CIC to see Joker. Joker was navigating towards the Mass Relay to get to Rannoch, and it was only a matter of seconds until they arrive.

"Joker."

"Shepard."

"How close are we to arriving at Rannoch?"

"Well, after dealing with some BS on Illium, we should be there for a few minutes."

"The Asari controller stationed there did not give us clearance to leave for approximately 1 hour 29 minutes and 13 seconds. The traffic controller was, as Joker would state, 'useless'." EDI added.

"Yeah, well, I think I can throw in a few 3 and 4 letter words at them in addition to 'useless'," Joker stated. As he said this, the Mass Relay's electrical currents made contact with the normandy, and within a few moments, the Mass Relay accelerated them to a speed beyond description. This happened several more times before finally, they arrived at the last Mass Relay leading to the solar system where Rannoch was located. As Tali and Shepard looked out the cockpit to get a better view of Rannoch, EDI then interrupted with,

"You do not need to engage the stealth drive, Jeff. The geth are not our enemies anymore."

"Oh, right. Thanks mom." Joker retorted.

As the Normandy got closer to Rannoch, so did the sunlight, as well as the planet. The planet was somewhat obscured because of the numerous geth stations orbiting Rannoch, but it was still a unique sight to see. Joker was continually pressing buttons and making mental calculations as the Normandy got closer to Rannoch. Tali and Shepard were still watching as their homeworld got closer and closer by the minute, Shepard putting his arm around Tali's shoulders, and vice versea. Eventually, the whole planet filled the view of the cockpit window as they passed several geth stations and patrolling ships. Rannoch was beautiful as its oceans and lands reflected in the sunlight. One could make out jungles, deserts, major bodies of water, and other key land masses as the normandy inched closer.

The Normandy entered Rannoch's upper layers of the atmosphere into the southern continent, where their home was. Their view was somewhat obstructed, and a few warning buzzers eminated from the normandy's dashboard, but those events quickly faded away. They could see it now; the clouds that were in Rannoch's lower atmosphere were visible, mostly in the jungle areas. They couldn't make out which ones were storms and which were just clouds due to the distance, but imagination states that the bigger the clouds are, the more likely they are to be thunderstorms. The Normandy shook a tiny bit as they encountered a bit of Turbulance in the atmosphere, but it quickly faded away. Rannoch was one of a few planets that the normandy could land on safely; if it landed anywhere else, it could cause some serious if not critical damage to the normandy.

After a few minutes, the normandy finally reached the lower levels of the atmosphere. They couldn't be too far away from the landing coordinates, as they were now flying over vast jungles. From the distance, a jungle clearing could be seen, with a bit of water as well; could their home be on that very horizon? It was beautiful looking at the jungles, rivers, as well as the very distant deserts and oceans that Rannoch had. Tali's heart got faster and faster as their home came closer and closer. Finally, amidst all the jungle and other land masses they crossed, the normandy reached the jungle clearing. Their home, as well as the homes of a few other quarians in the distance could be easily seen. Unbelievably, quarian cities, either recently built or standing there in the face of time, were also seen. Joker and EDI made some final calculations and procedures as they landed the normandy on Rannoch. Shepard and Tali wasted no time as they went down to the shuttle bay and waited for the main ramp to open. Tali's patience quickly faded away as the normany was finishing it's landing.

The main doors to the shuttle bay began to open, and as they were, Tali and Shepard sprinted towards them to feel the ground of Rannoch. Just 20 feet, then 10, then 5, and they both jumped out the still-opening shuttle bay ramp onto the dry jungle ground of Rannoch. They both felt the ground underneath their feet as they got up and looked around. Behind them laid thick and prosperous jungle that was teeming with all sorts of animal and plant life. In front of them, a vast ocean and a cliff greeted them as they walked closer to it. Below, the waves gently crashed onto the seashore as a few geth workers were spotted below on the beach. To the south, a few islands, and possibly a big city, could be seen in the distance, while the north side had nothing but an endless ocean and cliffs. The ocean expanded out until it could no longer be seen into the horizon. The cliff in front of them was ragged and had a few vines going down into the beach. It looked like you could rappel down onto the beach using just those vines.

Shepard looked at Tali as she was enjoying the view. She proceeded to take off her mask and look at Rannoch without a mask getting in her way. Her beautiful blue eyes reflected in the sunlight, as she shed a single tear of joy from witnessing the beauty of her homeworld in front of her. Tali had a smile on her face as well. After being away for so long, she was finally back to her homeworld once again, and this time, she was here to stay. She turned to Shepard and said,

"We're home."

To which Shepard responded,

"Right on the homeworld we hoped to see one day."

And at that moment, Shepard and Tali looked towards each other, slowly came close and kissed each other. It was a sight unlike any other, for Shepard and Tali to kiss each other in front of the Rannoch sun, with the expanding ocean in the background and the sun over top of it. As Shepard and Tali were passionately kissing each other and enjoying every moment of their passion, they heard clapping. Without thinking, they turned to where the clapping was coming from, and they witnessed the crew of the normandy clapping for Tali and Shepard. Shepard instantly became nervous, while Tali blushed and reached to put her mask back on in the hopes that nobody else would see her face, but realized too late the crowd already has. There was no point in hiding behind the mask now. Joker, EDI, Samantha, Garrus, Dyson, Adams, Liara, Javik, and the rest of the normandy crew were clapping for Tali and Shepard, with Joker cheering, "Way to go, Shepard! Way to go!". The crew approached Tali and Shepard as they went to get a look at Tali: To the crew, she was incredibly beautiful. Her black hair was tied up in the back, with black lines going down from the top of her head. Her blue eyes looked at the crew as her face had a neutral look. The crew was in awe, as most of them had never seen a quarian unmasked before. Some of the crew had their mouths and eyes wide open. To help keep the crew together, Tali began to speak,

"I have Shepard to thank, for all of this. For getting my homeworld back, for allowing the geth to co-exist with us, and for this," As Tali put her hand into a fist and put it onto her heart. "Nobody has ever seen the quarians in this manner before, but soon, the whole galaxy will. We will no longer exist as suit-rats or vermin, but become an important part of the galaxy, just like the Asari, the Humans, the Turians, and all of the other species out there. We will no longer be pushed around by others; soon, we will rise and join togther to push the galaxy in a better direction."

Shepard then continued Tali's speech with, "You all made a difference as well. It's no secret anymore that we're together, but I still had to do what I had to do when I was on-duty. I couldn't have helped retake not just Tali's homeworld, but the quarians homeworld as well without your help. We're a team. And...well, I've seen and experienced a lot of things that would kill or drive a lesser man crazy if they went through what I did. That's why I'm retiring. So I can live in the peace we helped to create and live my days without fighting a bickerish war."

Shepard finished the speech by saying, "The normandy will be here for a week, so your welcome to relax and enjoy your time here. If you decide you want to stay on Rannoch, let me, Tali or one of the Admiralty board members know and we'll try to arrange something. I can't make any guarentees, but as you've all served aboard with me, you all deserve a chance. Anyone have any questions?"

Liara raised her hand to ask a question, to which Shepard asked, "Yes, Liara?"

"What if we change our mind after the normandy leaves?"

Shepard and Tali looked at each other for an answer, Shepard hoping Tali woud have one. Tali then replied,

"If you change your mind, you need but to ask."

"Anyone else have questions?"

Nobody else stirred or even made a noise as a gentle breeze swept across the jungle clearing they were all standing on. Shepard then stated, "Alright, the Geth will help set up our beach supplies for our vacation. You can expect them to be all set up within the hour. Carry on." And with that, the crew scattered away, some went onboard the normandy to either change their apparel or help out, while the others walked around Rannoch to either explore a bit or head down to the beach.

Tali and Shepard went over to see how their house was progressing, after Tali put her mask back on. There wasn't much since construction only started yesterday, but there was surprising progress being made. Already, the foundation was constructed and parts of the first floor were being constructed. As Tali and Shepard looked at their house being built, the geth that were building the house stopped at whatever they were doing and looked at them. Clearly they were in awe of being in the presence of Shepard and Tali. A geth prime unit walked up to both of them and stated,

"Shepard-Commander. Creator Zorah. Welcome. We are currently in progress of building your home. Estimated time to completion: 5 days 6 hours 32 minutes."

"Thanks, but it's no longer Shepard-Commander anymore. It's just Shepard."

"Acknowledged. We will now refer to you as, 'Shepard'."

"Right."

Shepard and Tali looked around their property some more, including the foundation that the wave pool was dug in, before Shepard stated,

"Well, I better go get my suit and get ready for our dive, Tali."

"No problem. I'll make sure that our beach supplies are being set up in the right place."

"I'll be back soon."

Shepard went up to his quarters on the normandy to change into his suit. In the meantime, Tali took a small group of geth workers down the elevator ramp with their beach supplies to set them up. The ramp was fairly large, and could easily hold more than the geth workers, Tali and the beach supplies they were going to set up. It took about a minute for the large elevator to work it's way down to the beach. When the elevator arrived, Tali began directing the geth and setting up the equipment there. The pool was unique, as all that needed to be done to set it up was to press a button. Within 4 minutes, the base of the pool was set up, then the foundation of the pool began rising until it reached it's full height. It was more than a pool; it was also a small deck that could hold a few beach chairs. The geth unit that was assigned to setting up the pool directed some clean water into the pool and set up some beach chairs on the deck, as well as a few towels and such. The bar required assembly by 3 geth, and within 10 minutes, was set up. The barstools for patrons were outside, but covered in the shade, while on the inside, there was room for a bartender, plenty of space for drinks as well as other supplies, and a bit of walking space, complemented with air conditioning.

In the meantime, as Tali was setting up camp on the beach, Shepard had finished suiting up and was heading over to the beachside elevator. The suit Shepard was wearing was a skinned-down version of the armor he would wear into battle. Despite the skinned-down nature, it still looked good, and it was light enough for him to swim around in. Shepard was a bit hot in it due to the weather though. As he called up the elevator and waited for it to arrive, a familar voice called out to him:

"Really, Shepard? You have a beach party and don't bother to invite me?" Kasumi decloaked as she said this, surprising Shepard and almost causing him to draw his handgun before realizing it was her. He couldn't believe it.

"Kasumi! What are you doing here?"

"Just thought id stop by and say hello. I have to admit Shepard, you picked the right place for a party. Hot weather, lots of sun, this is a great place. Oh, I am welcome here, right? Or am I going to have to stay cloaked?"

"Well...alright, your welcome to the party, given that you've helped me in the past. But let me make this clear, Kasumi: If you dare take anything here that you shouldn't, I **WILL** hunt you down and see to it that more than your career is over. Got it?"

Kasumi held up her hands in defense as she responded: "Whoh, easy Shep. I didn't plan on making this one of my shopping trips. Besides, as tempting as it is, I owe you and Tali a favor anyways."

"A favor?"

"Well, from getting Keiji's graybox back, to easing off the pressure from the STG and everyone else, I think I owe you something."

"Thanks, but I th..." Kasumi silenced Shepard by putting her finger on his lips.

"Don't worry about the favor im returning. Your not going to feel guilty or get in trouble for it." The beachside elevator finally docked to Shepard's location. "But I can tell your busy, Shepard. I'll let you go. Oh, and do tell Tali I said hi."

Before Shepard could say anything, Kasumi cloaked and slipped out of Shepard's sight. Shaking his head, Shepard went over to the beach elevator, and went down with it. After a minute of waiting, it arrived, and Shepard walked out to the beach. He noticed how nicely it was set up; beach chairs pointed towards the ocean, with a few umbrellas here and there. In addition, the pool was to the west of the beach chairs, and the bar was on the south side. A geth worker was putting drinks, food, first aid supplies, and more inside the bar. Tali was looking out towards the beach as Shepard approached her. As he approached Tali, she turned around to see Shepard, and walked towards him as well.

"Hey Tali. Ready to take that dive we talked about?"

"Oh, oh yes, certainly."

A geth hunter unit walked up to them and stated, "We have analyzed the ocean you are about to swim in. There are 83 known species of life that will harm if provoked, but only 2 are aggressive. We will be monitoring the water around your area and alert you if a potentally dangerous species is in your area."

Shepard asked, "Tali? I take it you've been doing a bit of homework?"

Tali replied, "I didn't want to jump in and get eaten by something, Shepard!"

Shepard smiled for a brief moment before saying, "Let's take a dive," and proceeded to put on his helmet. The two of them walked closely together and entered the water. Tali's purple garmets on her suit turned a deep purple as they got wet. The soft sand gave away as they stepped into it, getting deeper and deeper into the ocean. Finally, they both dived in and began swimming as their suit's microclimate began working on it's own supply of air. The ocean was amazingly clear and blue as they swam through it. At first, there was surprisingly little in the way of sea life and plants, just sand. But as Tali gracefully swam through the water with the movements of her enitre body similar to a wave, and as Shepard used his strength and technique to propel himself thanks to his training in the alliance, the ocean sprang to life as they looked over a steep cliff! Down below, many forms of colorful aquatic plants greeted them, some of them bobbing in the currents below. A variety of small fish, some alone, some in schools, crossed through the ocean as if it were air. Tali and Shepard continued swimming, abit slower than normal, as they looked at all of the beautiful planet and animal life below the sea. Tali stated to Shepard using their synced suit communications,

"Wow, Shepard. All this life, all this space..."

"I know. I never thought I would see it either."

Shepard and Tali came closer to the ocean floor, not getting close to the planet life to protect it but approaching close enough to look at. One in particular looked like a round sponge, with a fire red color to it and eminating bubbles from time to time. Several small fish swam around them, and crab-looking creatures walked on the ocean floor, snapping at any fish that came close-by and exploring as well. Just as Shepard was about to pinch Tali with his fingers to intimidate the crabs, Tali swam on, and Shepard fallowed suit. The ocean continued to bloom with colorful life for miles upon miles on end. Clearly, the absence of the quarians have really expanded life underwater, and it was a wonderous sight to see all this life blooming.

As Tali was scanning the horizon for anything of interest, with Shepard fallowing behind, she stopped for a moment. Shepard looked over to what Tali was focused on, and then asked, "Are those...ruins? I cant tell." to which Tali replied, "Let's find out." and immediately swam over to the area. It was hard to tell if it was just a cluster of planets with a bit of sand, or if it was ancient quarian ruins that were overgrown, but soon it became clear. It was a ancient quarian temple, nearly overgrown by the many thousands upon thousands of years being underwater. Shepard and Tali swam around to find a entrance, before finding a opening near the bottom of the overgrown temple. They managed to fit through without brushing up against any of the plants, thanks to the large entrance. It was pitch black inside, so they turned on their helmet lights to see inside the temple. At first, it was just nothing but stone walls and elaborate quarian decorations inside. But, as they entered a large room with pillars, a stone throne, and other areas, Tali stopped to look around.

"This is amazing, Shepard," Tali exclaimed. "This temple is thousands upon thousands of years old. We were looking for these kind of things before the geth drove us out, and now...I can't tell you in words what it's like to be here. We were always interested in technology from the day we were born, and these temples were like research centers in the old days."

"So what's this room, then?"

"It looks like it's some kind of main hub. It's pretty dark in here, I wish I had more light. But I see a throne, some big and small pillars, and I think there's writing on the upper part of the wall." Tali moved closer to see if she could translate it. "Whatever this is, I can't seem to read it. It's a really old language."

"Do you know anything about these temples?"

"Very little. We were told stories about the quarians before the geth drove us out, and while we talked about the temples a bit, we didn't go into detail. I'll have to ask the admiralty board what they know and look up some geth data."

Shepard and Tali continued to explore the temple, hoping to find any data or artifacts to bring back with them. Suddenly, the temple came to light as blue lights eminating from gems lit up the inside of the temple!

"Did yo..."

"Yes," Tali interrupted. "I seem to have found some controls for the lights. It doesn't seem to do anything else though."

Shepard and Tali turned off their helmet lights as they no longer needed the illumination from them. The temple glowed a unique blue underwater that helped them see much better. Tali and Shepard realized there wasn't much left in this room, so they moved on to the lesser corridors. The south corridor didn't have much, just a few empty rooms that looked like they were suited for experiments of some sort. The north corridor appeared to house the mechanics of the temple, but as it was submerged, most of them, save the units for the lighting, were not working. As Shepard was about to leave though, something caught his attention. He stopped, looked around, pointed and asked,

"Is that...what I think it is?"

Tali looked around to where Shepard pointed, and sure enough, there was a silver orb, similar to the artifact they recovered on Kopis and seen on Eletania. The orb was pulsing very slowly, it's size similar to the artifact Shepard extracted on Kopis. What was such an artifact doing here? It instantly sparked Shepard and Tali's curiosity as they looked at it. Shepard replied, "Yeah, it is." and proceeded to remove it off the pillar it was on. As they examined the orb closely though, signs of wear and tear from experimentation were seen on it. Could the quarians have tried to reproduce this technology in some fashion? The two of them could only guess at this point, so Shepard decided to give the relic to Tali, as he thought this would be a major discovery for the quarian people. Plus, Shepard's suit did not have many pockets to put things in unlike Tali's suit.

Shepard and Tali resumed exploring the mysterious temple, heading over to the west side. This side was unique, as it had a large dome room that spanded to the roof of the temple on that side. It looked as if it were made for charting the stars and cosmos. Unfortunately, no equipment or interesting artifacts were able to be salvaged or found here, so they moved onto the last and eastern part of the temple. As they explored this area, Tali asked,

"I'm sorry if I let people see my face, Shepard. I hope your not mad at me."

To which Shepard comforted Tali by putting his hand on her shoulder and saying,

"No. I'm not."

Tali stopped and looked back at Shepard. "I realize that it's kind of a sacred thing for us, but..."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Tali. You even said it yourself, the quarians were going to become an important part of the galaxy, just like everyone else. That would mean people would be able to see their faces because they won't need their suits when they adapt. Besides, im still the only one who gets into your suit, you know..."

"Ha! Thanks, Shepard. I guess your right, there's still practices that are considered sacred for us, if not most anyone else."

Tali and Shepard continued on and looked at the halls of the eastern corridor as they swam through it, not seeing anything of interest. The halls appeared to be living quarters, with empty bed frames on the floor of each living quarter. The two of them went back to the main corridor to which Shepard asked,

"Well, looks like that's it. You want to keep swimming around or should we head back?"

"Let's swim around a bit, I still want to look around the ocean."

Tali shut off the lights to the temple, marked the coordinates of the temple so that it could be explored later, and swam out with Shepard to the vast expanse of the ocean. As they explored the vast, rich ocean, Shepard asked Tali,

"You know Tali, I don't believe we ever interlinked our suits before."

Tali couldn't help but giggle to herself at the thought. "Really, Shepard? We're out here swimming in the middle of the ocean and your talking about interlinking suits?"

"Well, I..."

"I know what your thinking, Shepard. And your crazy. But for us, I'll do it." And as she said this, Tali uncoiled a interlink tube on her suit. Shepard moved in closer so that she could connect her suit to his. As their suits interlinked, they both reached for their omnitools, vented out the interlink tube of water and opened their suits to one other. This was another first for Tali; she never interlinked her suit with anyone else until she met Shepard. As their suits exchanged air with one another, the air from Tali's suit seemed to be a somewhat dry heat that actually felt comfortable, while the air from Shepard's suit felt nice and mild. They hugged each other in the ocean while using the freefall of the underwater environment to make their experience more lively. It was a amazing experience, to link their suits together in a ocean filled with colorful life while spinning around in the water, lost as to which direction was up and staring into each other's eyes through their helmets, and hold each other bodies with love and passion for one another.

"Have you..." Shepard began to ask, but Tali promptly replied with, "No."

"How's the air feel, Tali?"

"Good. I can tell your body doesn't generate as much heat as mine, but it feels good, like air conditioning on a hot day. How about you?"

"It's a bit hot. But it feels good, which is odd."

"Perhaps you've adapted to me."

"Maybe."

"Should we head back, Shepard?"

"Yeah. I have a feeling it's gonna be a bit of a swim back."

Shepard and Tali began to work their way back to the beach. No matter how many times they've seen it, they can never get enough of the beauty of the plant and aquatic life on the ocean floor. It seemed that the ocean had just about every type of color of plant life out there, even colors with a odd combination. Seeing the schools of fish swim by was also fascinating, as they swam in a alien sense that couldn't quite be described. Most of the fish were small, but some of them, especially in the deeper parts of the ocean, were incredibly large. Unfortunately, as they were swimming back to the beach, they weren't quite able to stop and get a real good look at them, but it would be fascinating to swim by the levithans that lived in Rannoch's oceans. Some of them looked like whales, others looked like squids or other alien creatures that Shepard has never seen before. Shepard thought, "Perhaps someday, we'll see the oceans again."

The sight of the ocean floor rising as well as the lack of plant life indicated that they were close to the beach. After a few minutes, Shepard and Tali disconnected the suit link between their suits, and rose up out of the water to see the beach. Some of the crew members resting on the beach noticed them, but didn't really bother otherwise. Finally, they left the oceans of Rannoch and were standing on soft sand. Tali noticed that Admiral Raan was standing by the bar at the beach, with Joker sitting at the barstool and EDI behind the bar. Admiral Raan noticed the two emerging from the beach and approached them. Admiral Raan began by stating,

"Shepard. Tali. How are you doing?"

"Admiral Raan!" Tali replied. "We just took a dive into the ocean. It was beautiful, you should see it! But, we found something."

"Have you?" Admiral Raan asked, to which Tali activated her omni-tool and stated,

"We found a ancient quarian temple underwater. There wasn't much left, but there was clearly quarian architecture there, and Shepard found this as well." Tali pulled out the artifact that Shepard found and presented it to Raan. "We believe this is a prothean artifact that was discovered by our ancestors and was attempted to be studied. We don't know if they got anything out of it."

"Really! This is great news. I'll definately let the board know of your discovery, Tali. And thank you Shepard, for aiding us once again."

"Not a problem, Admiral," Shepard responded.

"But, the reason im here at the moment is to speak to Tali about some urgent matters that the board wishes to discuss. Would you be able to excuse us, Shepard?"

"Sure thing. I'll be down here if you need anything."

"I'll be back in a bit, Shepard. Let me know if you need anything." And with that, Tali walked off with Admiral Raan to discuss whatever urgent matters were at hand. In the meantime, Shepard decided to head to the side of the pool where nobody or nothing was looking at him, and quickly stripped down to his swim shorts. They were fairly plain black shorts that were slightly above his knees; Shepard didn't have much in the way for taste when it came to apparel, it seemed. Shepard put his suit on one of the beach chairs, and proceeded towards the bar where EDI and Joker were at. EDI noticed Shepard approaching and waved at him, to which Joker turned around from his drink and noticed Shepard approaching. As Shepard went to pull up a seat next to Joker, EDI greeted Shepard with,

"Hello Shepard! How is your vacation?"

"Not bad EDI, and you?"

"Jeff and I were discussing what our future would become when we depart Rannoch and return to service with the Alliance. Would you like anything to eat or a drink, Shepard?"

"Just a drink, EDI. Pour me a drink from that purple bottle up there." As EDI prepared Shepard's drink, Joker entered the conversation by stating,

"I don't know what'll become of the normandy, Shepard. I just...It's just that it won't be the same without you leading it."

"I know how you feel, Joker. The normandy's a damn good ship, I wish I could keep her. But the alliance needs the best they can get, and that's who the ship is for."

"I don't think I could live here com...I mean, Shepard." EDI finished preparing Shepard's drink and handed it to him.

"Don't worry about the slip-up Joker. It's gonna take time," Shepard replied.

"I guess. But at the same time, being on the normandy without you is...well, I don't know, but if the normandy had a heart, we'd be missing a big chunk without you."

Shepard drank his shot while EDI interviened by saying, "All sorts of things change in time, Jeff. It is hard to accept such changes, but we have little choice in the matter."

"Yeah, I guess your right." Joker sighed. "You know, I never thought I would get to see Tali out of the mask. I guess there wasn't a tentacle monster under there after all. Oh and um, I couldn't help but join the crowd Shepard, I mean, you were right there, kissing her and all. I figured I would just, you know, support you and try to make you feel good and all."

Shepard shook his head, smiled a bit, and said, "Don't worry about it, Joker. How's the crew reacting to seeing Tali face to face?"

Joker replied, "A lot of people are talking about how great she looks. Some of them were shocked, others didn't even take a dent. I think seeing Tali for the first time is going to make people change their minds about quarians, Shepard."

EDI added, "It is a rather fascinating thing to see a quarian such as Tali unmasked for the first time. You have given the quarian people a future they had wanted for hundreds of years. But I find the Geth to be much more interesting to study, as you have helped them to make peace with their creators. I have communicated with several of them using FTL communications, and when I connected to their consensus, it is a space where everything exists at once, and at the same time, it does not. I would not recommend you try it Shepard, as I was nearly overwhelmed by the many programs."

Shepard responded, "You can be overwhelmed?"

EDI answered, "I am limited in my ability to process multiple tasks at once. Currently, I can process 50 zettabytes of information under normal conditions before further processes are put on a query list."

Shepard nodded and stated, "I see. I should go."

Joker said, "See ya," to Shepard while EDI nodded to his departure. Shepard walked over to where the beach chairs were and noticed Garrus sitting on one of them, looking at a datapad. Like Shepard, he also was in beach attire, wearing blue swim shorts, and didn't seemed to be bothered too much by the heat. Shepard walked over to where Garrus was sitting, took a seat next to him, and greeted him with,

"Hey Garrus. How you doin?"

"Could be worse. I hate it when the sand gets into my scales."

"I guess so. What are you looking at?"

"Oh, just catching up to things on the extranet and talking to family." Garrus put down his datapad as he said this and turned his attention to Shepard. "You know, I've been thinking quite a bit about what Tali said earlier."

"Oh?"

"When I look back in time, I've done all sorts of stuff. C-Sec, being a mercenary leader, stuff on Palaven, and stuff with you. But the thing that keeps coming back to me the most is stuff with you. Going through hell and back 3 times, well...that'll change anyone. You were there with me all along when it happened. And if theres one other person that has, Tali was too." Garrus looked out to the ocean, then continued, "Don't worry, I know you two made up your minds about each other, and I respect that, Shepard. I know it gets a little scary with you two, but I respect you and Tali's relationship completely. But...to me, Tali was like my little sister, and you, a big brother. It's strange, but that's the way I see it."

"I'm glad to hear it, Garrus. I couldn't have thought of anyone I'd trust more than you or Tali."

"But the question you want to know is, "Am I staying here?" Well, I can't think of anywhere else that I want to go. Sure, I could start my own mercenary group again, or go on some sort of damned crusade, but things have changed. There are the old times, sure, but what you did out there Shepard...I'm actually looking forward to the future for once. The krogan, the quarians, the geth, no more reapers; it's a whole new game out there."

"Well?"

"I'm staying here, Shepard." Shepard's attention suddenly became sharpened as Garrus said this. "As much as I like the old times, this is different. New. And fresh. The food's dextro here, it's not cold, and probably best of all, you and Tali are close by."

"I'll let Tali know, Garrus. Glad your staying with us."

"And before you ask, don't worry. I'm keeping the calibrations and target practice in my yard. Im not gonna use your windows or anything like that for target practice, just so you know."

"AND the Geth."

"Not unless they shoot first."

"Right. So how are you enjoying things otherwise?"

"Well, I guess its nice to relax for once. I was thinking about using the pool, since I don't have to worry about going too deep and drowning in it. Or getting attacked by random sea monsters."

"If you want to use it, don't hesitate. We braught it out here for a reason. Feel free to help yourself to any food or drinks we got too."

"Good to hear I don't have to cut up the leaves around here and make a salad for myself."

Shepard smiled slightly, then Garrus continued the conversation: "So, Shepard. Now that I think about it, what are you and Tali going to do with your future?"

Shepard paused to think for a moment, then added, "Marrage. Maybe kids. Not to mention going on a few adventures, since im still a spectre. But, most of all, peace."

"I'll tell you one thing, kids are going to be a adventure in itself if you decide to have some. I'd like to see a quman or 2 running around on Rannoch," Garrus joked.

"I wonder how we're gonna have kids if we decide."

"Now there's the fun part."

"No kidding. When the time comes, Tali and I will know what to do."

"I guess your right."

"I should go. Nice talking to you, Garrus."

"Take care."

Shepard got up, left Garrus, and walked up the steps that led to the pool deck to check it out. It was rather nice for a pool. It had a wooden deck with a few beach chairs that were laid out by the geth. The pool had built-in steps as well as a middle handrail. The pool itself was the size of 7 Shepards lying down and stacked together, while the deck surrounding it was about 1 1/2 Shepards. The pool depth was 4 feet near the steps, and gradually sloped down to 7 ft. A filter powered the pool underneath, and was barely audible. In addition, there was also a 4 ft section that ran down the length of the step side of the pool that was good for sitting on. Liara was sitting on one of the beach chairs, apparently finished with a recent swim, and was dying off in the Rannoch sun. Her blue skin glistened beautifully in her blue 2-piece outfit as she relaxed and soaked up the sun. Shepard wouldn't deny that she looked beautiful, but he knew that deep inside, Tali's appearance shined far more brighter in his heart. Shepard walked over to Liara, took a seat next to her and began a conversation by asking,

"Enjoy the pool?"

"It's not bad. I was thinking about swimming in the ocean, but...I'm not too fond of swimming in nature with what im in right now."

"Can't say I blame you. How's Rannoch?"

"By the goddess, it's wonderful. I remember talking to Javik about Rannoch and a few other places, and words alone aren't enough. I feel rather strange here, and I can't figure out why."

"Well, the geth did inhabit Rannoch for over 300 years before the quarians made peace and the geth let them back. That could be why."

"Perhaps your right."

"How's Javik taking all of this?"

"I'm not sure where he went off to, but I knew he wouldn't care about being on the beach. I wouldn't be surprised if he was hunting in the jungle. I hope I don't have to go find him before we leave."

"Have you thought about what you'll do once this vacation is over?"

"Well, being a shadow broker has it's blessings, and it's curses. As fascinating as Rannoch is, I can't stay here. Or anywhere else for long, in that case. There can only be one Shadow Broker, after all. And I don't want to get the quarians to share my curse either."

"I understand. If I need anything, is there a way I can reach you?"

"Just reach me on your omni-tool. Don't worry, even though I change frequencies often, I have your omni-tool keyed to mine so if you contact me, you'll be able to get through to me."

"Thanks."

"So I take it you and Tali are going to build your future here?"

"No better place I can think of. You haven't...seen anything, have you?"

Liara reached for a datapad and went through a few things as she said, "I go through a lot of data as a shadow broker. You don't need to worry. I don't need my data to know you and Tali are doing the right thing and making a bright future for yourselves. And...well, speaking of Tali..." Liara put her datapad down and continued by stating, "I never thought I would see her face. Her beauty is unrivaled, Shepard. She is the example of the future the quarians have, and it wouldn't have happened without you."

"When I look at all of this, the beach, the ocean, our hourse, I realized that none of this would have happened without me. Hell, it goes way before that, but where we're at now, and what we're doing couldn't have happened with me."

"Or at least, not for a very long time. It'll take time, but many years from now, the quarians can live without their suits. I think the galaxy will be in for a big surprise when the quarians step in and take their rightful place in it. The potental is there, Shepard."

"I guess time's all they'll need now. They have the geth on their side now."

"It's funny when you think about it; a few years ago, the geth were our prime enemy. We still faught them after we battled Saren and during the reaper invasion, but now they're with us, and most of all, with their creators. I wonder what kind of future we can build with them?"

"The geth are a strange machine race. I think now that they've made peace, they'll try doing something nobody has never done before. Who knows?"

"I guess your right. The whole galaxy owes you a great debt Shepard, not just the quarians and the geth. You saved us all from being just another cycle of the reapers."

"Yeah, thanks, I guess." Shepard decided to step into the cool and cool off for a bit. The water was a bit chilly at first, but eventually, it became nice and cool for Shepard. Shepard swam around for a bit, then sat down in the pool to relax. About 20 minutes after Shepard stepped into the pool, someone climbed up the steps that led to the pool. Shepard and Liara turned around and noticed Kasumi, still in her usual outfit was there. Kasumi turned her eyes to Shepard, and Shepard decided to begin a conversation between them by asking,

"Don't you ever get hot in that?"

Kasumi sat down on a nearby chair and replied, "This suit has it's own microclimate. As long as my shields are up, I can adjust how hot or cold I feel. Of course, it doesn't protect me from the sun or from extreme temperatures, but that's what the whole setup's for. But I know that's not the only thing your gonna talk about, Shep, and well, I'd rather talk about you first. How are you doing now that this war's over?"

"I'm glad it's over. The galaxy can take care of itself now that the reapers are gone. How about you?"

"Working on the crucible was actually a fun project. But it also had its drawbacks. It seemed that whenever there was a problem nobody could fix, I had to step in and fix it for them. It was so annyoing. I swear if I wasn't there im not sure if they'd ever get it to work. But at least I was compensated with all the shiny things laying around there."

"Have you ever thought about changing careers yet?"

"Why should I? Things are different now that the war is over and people have changed, but that doesn't mean credits will go out of style, you know."

"I guess not. Maybe greed can't be killed off in the galaxy. It doesn't matter much, I suppose. How'd you get here anyway?"

"I got a ride."

"Do I want to know?"

"No."

"Good."

"How are you and Tali doing? I was there when it happened, Shepard, I was cloaked. My god, I never thought I would see her like that, she's just so...I can't even describe it. I think she's gotten a lot better now that your around."

"We get better each day. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her."

"I'm glad to hear you and Tali found each other. A woman like her deserves a man like you."

"Thanks. So...heard anything interesting from the crew?"

"I talked to some of your crew, but not everyone. Joker hasn't changed much, still doesn't like seeing me. It took EDI to stop him from making all sorts of rukus. Speaking of EDI, im really quite surprised. She's a robot now?"

"Not quite a robot, she just has a mobile platform."

"Well, anyways, we talked for a bit; she seemed really organic for a machine, and it's strange. I've worked around all sorts of VI's, AI's and all sorts of machines, and out of all of them, EDI stands out for whatever reason. I think if she keeps upgrading herself, something big's gonna happen, Shepard. Well anyways, I talked to Garrus, and he seemed different now that there's not much left to fight. All of his life, he faught for something; C-Sec, being with you, and all that stuff. Now that the reapers are out of the picture and the galaxy at peace, he's been thinking a lot about what he's gonna do now."

"I talked to him earlier. I think he's gonna make his new home here."

"Really? Well, you and Garrus went through a lot together, and you kept him alive, no matter what happened. I think it's no wonder he wants to live with you; your his brother to him. I haven't seen Javik around much, and I talked to your father."

Shepard become concerned and replied, "How did you know my father was here?"

"Quite simple, really. For one, he stuck out in the crowd, and two, when I asked him who he was, he told me his name. I asked if you were his son, and he said yes. He told me about himself and his story, it seems hard to believe. It's no wonder you almost walked away from him. I think it's good that you took him with you to see the galaxy, he's never been off earth before. I think that's going to help him decide what he wants to do after your vacation is over."

"Yeah, it's...kind of a long story, with my father."

Kasumi looked over and noticed Liara was gone; apparently she must have slipped out while they were talking. Kasumi came closer to Shepard, and whispered to him, "I saw Tali and the Admirals talking to each other. I figured I'd eavesdrop on them to see if I could get anything good. Other than the squabble with the geth, and the rebuilding going on, apparently there's someone here who shouldn't be."

Shepard leaned closer to Kasumi and said, "Who?"

Kasumi responded, "They don't know. They said they came in earlier in the day, a shuttle came in, dropped somebody off and left. They don't know who it was or where the shuttle went. I think you better watch yourself, Shepard."

"It wasn't you, by chance, was it?" Shepard asked.

"This isn't my idea of a joke, Shepard. I've got better aces up my sleve than that," Kasumi responded.

Shepard replied, "Well then, thanks for the tip." He leaned back and asked, "So have you heard anything else?"

"Nothing else that caught my attention, Shepard. You ever think about inviting some of your old crew to your beach party?"

"If they want to come, they can, but otherwise I could care less."

"Come on, Shepard. You saved the galaxy and throw a party for your crew, but don't invite some of your old friends?"

"It's been a month, Kasumi. And I haven't heard from most of them, either."

"I would think about inviting some of your old friends, Shepard. If they heard that you were throwing a party for retiring, they'd be happy to see you again."

"Well...I'll think about it." Kasumi noticed that Shepard had a bit of sadness in himself, but didn't want to ask him about it.

"Enjoy your party, Shepard. I'll be around here till it's over, I suppose. I need a break too every now and then."

Shepard turned from Kasumi and continued relaxing in the pool for about another hour, oblivious to the passage of time. Kasumi left the pool to get something to eat over at the bar at the end of the hour, and that's when Shepard got out of the pool. He sat down near one fo the beach chairs and dried himself out. As he was doing so, someone came up the pool steps. He looked up and noticed it was Tali! He noticed she had some food and drinks with her on a tray. She approached Shepard and said,

"Hey Shepard. I braught us something to eat and drink, EDI said you hadn't had anything to eat yet so I thought id bring you something."

Shepard smiled at Tali and took his portion of the food and drinks Tali braught. Apparently, EDI cooked him a medium-well steak with onions and baked potatoes. There were also condements for steak sauce and butter as well. In addition, Shepard also had a glass of...green for a drink; it was clearly non-alcoholic, and was probably a soda drink of some sort. Next to this green drink was a cocktali glass full of some of the wine they baught. Shepard said, "Thanks, Tali.", and began eating his meal while Tali had her nutrient paste and her own version of Shepard's cocktali glass. When Shepard was halfway through his meal, he asked Tali,

"So, what did you and the admirals talk about earlier?"

"Oh, we were talking about the geth, some of the cities around here and a few other things."

"Are the cities around here actually functioning?"

"Yeah. All of them are remanents of cities that existed before the morning war. I toured one of them with the Admirals, it's kinda strange. When I walked through the town, sometimes I could see flash images of people that used to live here, and I imagined what the quarians were like living here."

"I see what you mean."

Tali leaned over to Shepard and whispered to him, "I think there might be someone after us."

Shepard stopped eating, knowing that it was probably the same thing Kasumi said to him, but didn't want to mention it to Tali. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"A ship landed here and dropped someone off not too long ago. We don't know who it was, or where they came from, but all we know is one person was dropped off a ship nearby here. We weren't able to track the ship when it left, and the ship that was used was stolen. I don't know if it's a coincidence that someone would land so close to here, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were after us."

Shepard gripped Tali's hand and resassured her by saying, "Don't worry. I'll do whatever I can to protect you."

"Thanks Shepard." Tali winked in response to him and nodded her head. "We have geth and quarian units searching for whoever landed here. Even Javik volunteered, I guess he was getting a bit bored. Whoever this is, they're good Shepard. At best, we've only found signs somebody was here, we have no clue who they are or why they're here."

"They're bound to slip up sooner or later."

"I hope so."

"Oh, I don't know if you noticed Kasumi, but she wanted me to give you her greetings. I guess she's a surprise guest at her party."

Tali curiously asked, "Do you think it was her that actually slipped in here?"

Shepard responded, "I doubt it. She probably stowed away on the normandy, and how she did I have no idea. I doubt this is all part of a elaborate joke she set up."

"Hmmm..." Tali thought.

Shepard and Tali finished up their meals and had their drinks. 20 minutes after they finished up their drinks, Tali asked Shepard,

"Shepard, care for a game of volleyball?"

"Sure, why not?" They both got up, went down the pool steps and walked over to the volleyball nets, where there were a few volleyballs sitting on the sand. A few of the crew happened to be nearby the nets, so Tali asked,

"Who's up for a few games of volleyball?"

Liara, EDI, Garrus, Samantha, Dyson and engineer Adams were all up for a game of volleyball. Garrus would team up with Shepard against Tali and EDI while Adams and Samantha would team up against Liara and Dyson. It was an intense game, with the heat as well as the skills of the crew being put to the test, and most of it was focused on Shepard's team vs. Tali's. The score was even between the two for most of the match, mostly due to the tech power on one side competing strength and force on the other. Sometimes the two teams exchanged bicking and bantering with one another; Garrus would complain of EDI's robotic strength, EDI would joke that Garrus decalibrated her sensory input, Tali would jump for joy when she scored a point and pout when she lost, Shepard would deliberately try to kick sand at Tali when he hit the ball, and so on. It was quite interesting seeing the two teams exchange bicking and banter at times.

Then, the final round came. By this time, the other team had already finished their match; Dyson and Adams, as one may predict, lost to Liara and Samantha, although it wasn't a horrifying defeat, as Liara did not use biotics; had she used them, Dyson and Adams would not score a single point. The final round began with EDI serving to Shepard. Shepard used his reflexes to push the ball towards Tali, who then bounced it over to Garrus. Garrus then changed the pace by slamming it as hard as he could towards EDI. EDI's calculations allowed her to slam it over towards Shepard, who nearly hit the net as Shepard streaked the ball towards Tali. Tali kicked it back to Garrus, who then tried to slam it again towards EDI, but ended up making the ball fly high. EDI took advantage of this to target Shepard with maximum force, the ball traveling at such a high speed that before Shepard had time to hit it, it bounced right off his chest and dazed him for a brief moment. Garrus saw Shepard was in trouble and immediately hit the ball back in whatever direction he could towards Tali and EDI.

At this point, the game got real intense. Shepard and Garrus were sweating a bit, and Tali's suit was working harder to keep her cool. But none of them had time to sweat, as Tali used a spin-kick to hurl the ball back at Garrus, who then punched it towards EDI, and in turn, EDI slapped it away towards Shepard. Shepard headbutted the ball towards Tali, who used the height of the ball's travel to her advantage by hitting it back at Shepard with speed. Shepard barely managed to strike the ball back towards EDI, who then used both of her fists to send it back to Shepard with hurling force. Shepard's dexterity couldn't keep up with the speed of the ball, and it ended up hitting his chest while he was in mid-air, which then went towards the volleyball net. Tali wasn't sure if it was going to go over the net or land on Shepard's side, so she sprinted over to where it was going to land, and in slow motion, she watched as EDI rushed over to where the ball was, only for both of them to be too late as the ball landed on the sand in their side. Tali was in the middle of a sand slide when she saw all this, and when she realized that Shepard and Garrus won, she hit the sand with her fist and yelled, "Bos'chet!" as she realized EDI and herself lost.

As Shepard crossed his arms and smiled a bit, he said, "Well, look who won."

Tali responded, "You only got lucky. Next time, ill see to it that you don't."

Garrus bantered back at her, "Even with EDI on your side, we still won. Now what does that say about the whole thing?"

EDI, although not directly being spoken to, replied with, "I was not utilizing the full potental of this mobile platform. Had I used the full pontental of it, I would have won, assuming the volleyball did not deflate or catch fire with how hard I would hit it. I have also realized that it was my fault we lost, and will be sure to record that for our next game."

Tali supported EDI and went, "Ha! I told you that you wouldn't get lucky next time."

Shepard replied, "It was a good game, either way. Maybe we'll have a rematch someday."

Tali responded, "Maybe we will."

Now that the volleyball game was over, things were calming down at the beach party, and the sun was setting. Some of the crew went back up the elevator to either look around Rannoch or head back onto the ship. The others stayed on the beach to watch the sunset. Tali and Shepard sat together on a beach chair, observing the sun disappear right into the ocean. Most sunsets that Shepard and Tali ever saw were usually a orangish color, but because of how close the sun was to Rannoch, it was more golden. This color was rather unique, as when it shined on Tali's suit, it changed the color of the non-fabric part of her suit slighty. Perhaps her ancestors designed their suits to show this kind of color during the sunset? Shepard had no idea, but for now, he continued to look at the Rannoch sun setting in the distance.

"You know, I've seen a lot of sunsets before, but this beats 'em all," Shepard commented.

"I havent seen many sunsets before, but your right. It's fascinating, looking at this," Tali replied.

"I never knew your suits change color during the sunset."

Tali looked at herself to see what Shepard was talking about, and noticed her suit had a slightly golden appearance to it, dismissing it at first as part of the light the sunset gave. But when she moved her suit around, her suit still had the golden color, even in places the sunset didn't reach. It was rather odd, and Tali was stumped at how this could happen. She then said,

"Your right. But...I don't even know how this happens! It doesn't make sense!"

"Well, I guess we can find out more about it later."

"Your right. Let's just watch the sunset."

Minute by minute, the sun slowly but surely sank into the ocean. It was a sight unlike any color, with the colors, as well as the somewhat bigger size of the sun due to Rannoch's close proximity to it. When the sun finally sank into the ocean, the glow from Tali's suit faded away, and the moonlight creeped in. Eventually, the rest of the crew, save for Shepard and Tali, would head back to the normandy. For the crew, their night would wind down, but for Shepard and Tali, the night was still young for them.

**More chapters to come in the near-future! Stay tuned!**


	13. Chapter 11: Soul of Passion

The Rannoch night was soothing to the eye as Shepard was relaxing in the pool, the built-in lights providing sufficent illumination to see in and somewhat around the pool. Tali was supposidly making sure the bar was closed and all set, but little did he realize Tali was preparing a surprise for him. This surprise was a bit of a risk for Tali, but decided it was well worth preparing in the end. While Tali was a bit cautious and careful in her preparations due to the fact that a unknown intruder landed nearby, she was confident the geth would do their job and guard them from any intruders. However, it was Shepard that was more worried, especially since Tali was alone. After a few moments of waiting, Shepard shouted,

"Tali?"

"I'll be with you in a minute," Tali replied. Shepard noticed her voice seemed a bit off, but it was probably the pool. Shepard eased up a bit, knowing that Tali was alright. He looked up to see the beautiful moon hanging in the air above him; it gave a nice, blue glow around the face of the planet, and made the mood of the environment feel pleasent. Shepard was wondering if he should dim or turn off the pool lights, but his thoughts were interrupted as someone climbed up the steps to the pool. Shepard turned his head to see Tali, but without her suit! Shepard's eyes widened and his senses were sharpened at the sight of Tali; she was incredibly beautiful. As she turned the corner towards Shepard, he got a better view of Tali; Tali was in a purple two-piece suit. Her eyes reflected from the pool to give them a unique glow, and her black hair was loose in the back. The black lines seen on her neck went out of sight on her back and then came around the sides where her stomach was to make a few simple lines on the front of her torso. Her nails on her hands and feet were plain, but the sight that caught Shepard's attention was her skin tone. It was a beautiful white hue, and very relaxing to the eyes.

"Tali?" Shepard reacted, in shock. He quickly pulled himself together and said, "You look great."

"Thanks. As do you."

Tali began to enter the pool, with Shepard watching her. The water rippled away from her body as her feet entered the water, to which the water was warm and did not cause her to jerk back or have any adverse reactions. To Tali, the water and the pool felt wierd. She couldn't quite describe it, but at the same time, she felt a bit familiar with it. As she made her way to the pool floor, she went into a swimming position, and sat down next to Shepard, who was looking at her with awe the whole Time. They both had each other now. Tali slowly put her hand on Shepard's hand underwater, to which Shepard asked,

"How's the water feel, hon?"

"It feels nice. Not too warm, not too cold. Well, it could be warmer, but that's not what im focused on." Shepard and Tali's eyes locked into place with each other as they looked upon themselves with a awe that one would see in the movies. Eventually, Tali asked Shepard,

"Care to try something?

"Sure."

"Hold your breath."

As soon as Shepard held his breath, Tali pounced him and pulled him underwater in a graceful manner that didn't alarm him. It was a feeling that pumped Shepard up; he knew he was in for something good. As they slowly sunk underwater, Tali leaned forward to Shepard, and Shepard, knowing what was going to happen, leaned forward and locked lips with Tali, kissing her. It was much better than their dive underwater, as their nerves could experience the feeling that they shared with one another, and with Tali out of their suit, it was a different and unique situation. They continued kissing a few moments after Shepard landed on his back in the pool, careful not to swallow any water in the process. Eventually, they needed to surface for air, so they swam up, with Tali taking a big gasp of air and Shepard only a somewhat moderate gasp. When they swam back to the pool's edge and sat down, Shepard remarked,

"I knew you couldn't get enough back on our dive."

Tali expressed a bit of shock on her face while replying, "What? I...Your just imaging things, Shepard."

Shepard flirted with her in saying, "I knew you were blushing under that mask of yours."

Tali elbowed him in the ribs playfully and said, "Was not!"

Tali and Shepard enjoyed the water for a little while more, bathing in the warmth of the water and enjoying the company of each other greatly. The night was beginning, and already it was worth remembering. But it wasn't over yet. After Tali got used to the pool water and swimming in it, she asked Shepard,

"Care to dry off? I'd like to show you something."

"Can't wait to see it. Sure."

Shepard and Tali got out of the pool, water dripping down their bodies. After drying off a short time later and shutting off the pool, they went towards the elevator, Tali grabbing her suit in a bag on their way there. However, Tali interviened before Shepard could get on it and said,

"I'd rather use the stairs. I don't want to make too much noise yet."

Shepard rolled his eyes and went up the somewhat long flight of steps. It certainly wasn't something he could shrug off, but it wasn't anything he could handle either. After walking up the steps, the two of them brushed off the sand they stepped in and Tali led the way. Shepard hoped nobody or nothing was watching them as they were going to wherever they were, especially considering that Tali was in a two-piece outfit. While others, such as Liara, were in similar attire, and while Tali unintentionally revealed her face to everyone, this would be different if people saw them, and it wouldn't be a comfortable situation if they were caught.

A short walk later, they ended up in the foundation of their house by a room of some sort. What could be inside? Tali opened up the door, beckoned Shepard to get inside, and realized this was their master bedroom. After closing the door and hearing the hum of the air conditioning turning on, Tali turned on the lights to reveal what was in the room. A bed with purple quilts was on the far side of the room, with a nightstand next to it. A desk was on Shepard's right side, while two large chairs, one by the desk and one by the bed, was visible. A black mini refrigerator with a electric grill on top was tucked between the desk and the large chair. Two dressers was to Shepard's left side by the bed, and a projector was seen above the bed, presumably used to stream live TV as well as videos. As Shepard was taking the sight of their own bedroom in, Tali commented,

"I braught some of our clothes here. Yours is on the desk. You don't mind if we change in privacy, do you?"

"Sure. Ill change outside around the corner."

"Ok, sounds good."

Shepard took his clothes off his desk. It seemed to be his old cerberus uniform, but without the logos, and it had different colors. It consisted of his short sleeved shirt and shorts, along with his black socks, shoes and boxers. Shepard was unable to tell if it was the actual uniform or just a knock-off brand, but regardless of that, he went outside, changed from his wet swim shorts to his clothes, and went back inside the bedroom. He noticed that the lights were now off, being replaced by the heavenly glow of candlelight. Walking in, he noticed Tali laying down on the bed. She wore different attire, consisting of a short sleeved maroon shirt with a gold trim to it, as well as matching shorts and no socks. Shepard walked over towards Tali, slipped his shoes off and laid down next to her, asking,

"Enjoying the night, my sweet?"

"We're just getting started."

"That we are."

"I figured since it was our first night here since a month ago, i'd make it special. I had the geth focus on building this room first."

"It's nice. I'm gonna miss the fish tank though."

"Yeah."

Shepard noticed that the alarm clock next to him was capable of playing music, much like the alarm clock he had on the normandy. Shepard asked Tali, "You mind if I put on some music?"

"Sure. I don't think we've ever had had the chance to do that before."

Shepard went through some of the music on the alarm clock, going through a few noticable pieces, such as the music in the old Flux bar on the citadel. Finally, he settled with 'Heart of Courage' (A track from Two Steps of Hell, heard in Mass Effect 2). As the violins played in the background, Shepard asked Tali,

"Is Rannoch what you expected when you came here?"

"No. It's better than I thought. What about you? Do you miss earth?"

"Not at all. Earth wasn't my home, even though I was born on it. I think home means more than just a place to live in. It has spiritual meaning and relavance. And I don't know why."

"I know what you mean. And don't worry. Your home. Not only that, but...we're together. And your mine."

As the music began to change and take shape after the violins, Shepard and Tali knew what to do. It started with a intimate kiss. Accompanied with the kiss was intimate touching, as Shepard slid his hands up Tali's arm and back. Shepard worked his kiss down Tali's neck as she sighed in pleasure. Tali squeezed Shepard's back with her fingernails, wanting to feel the flesh behind it. Shepard then proceeded to take off his shirt as he went to kiss the top of Tali's hand and get close to her, hearing her soft heartbeat get slightly rapid. Tali knew Shepard wanted more, so she did the same and took off her shirt, revealing a plain black bra underneath her shirt. At that point, she climbed on top of Shepard as he rubbed her stomach softly and worked his way up. Shepard surprised her by immediately grabbing her breasts and sneaking a kiss in during the process, which heightened Tali's senses and made her heart race. Tali, however, was feeling Shepard's chest all around, from his abs, to his sides and back.

Shepard and Tali wanted more. Far more. But were they ready to go that far with each other? It was ultimately Shepard who asked that question to Tali, as he spoke,

"Is it time?"

"Hell yeah. You know what to do."

Shepard and Tali both stripped off the last of their clothing in a flash, being free from the burdens of cloth. Shepard then got on top of Tali and began. At first, it was slow and gentle, Shepard feeling his way through Tali and finding her sensitive spots. Whenever Tali gasped or changed the state of her breathing, Shepard knew he found a soft spot in her. Fortunately for Shepard, there were plenty of ways to please Tali. He slowly picked up the peace, their heartbeats getting close to maxing their pumps per second out. Then Tali had a change of plans, as she flipped Shepard onto the bed using a combination of mostly her legs and a bit of her arms, a smile on her face when she did so. For now, she wanted to have things her way, or in her mind, experiment. She felt Shepard through her fingers, noticing the skin was soft, yet felt hard in thickness. She rubbed Shepard's skin a bit and moved her fingers around it with speed, Shepard and Tali both getting unique sensations from one another. For Tali, experimenting was a rather unique activity they never tried.

Then, it was time to finish the whole thing. When Shepard noticed Tali was done experimenting, he flipped her back onto the bed, grabbed her hand and penetrated her once again. This time, Shepard was going to make sure things would happen. It started a bit faster than last time because of their previous contact and Tali's experimentation, and already their hearts were beating as fast as they could. Faster and faster. Pleasurable and more pleasurable. Shepard could let go at any time with the sensations he had, but kept holding on for as long as he could. While he was causing all sorts of sensations and pleasures in Tali, he kept a eye out on how hard she was squeezing Shepard's hand and her expressions, to see when she was going to climax. Tali was a tough one for sure, and Shepard was wondering if he was going to give in before her. 3 minutes of continuous activity passed. Shepard was about to give in, the sensation of releasing the pressure being almost unbearable, but then, Tali squeezed his hand real hard as she was groaning as loud as she could. At that moment, he just let go of his body, as Tali and Shepard exchanged the fluids of life with one another. It was a eruption of pleasure and sensation that they exchanged with one other. Slowly, over the period of 30 seconds, their exchange slowed down, and eventually stopped, Tali softing her grip on Shepard's hand in the process and Shepard laying down on top of Tali, listening to her heartbeat slowing down and beating gently. To hear Tali's heartbeat was music to Shepard's ears, as it felt soft and comfortable. After catching their breath and energy, Shepard picked himself up, turned down the never-ending music and asked Tali,

"There's more where that came from. Up for round two?"

"Are you kidding me?" Tali commented to Shepard, giving him a quick but firm kiss in the process before saying, "Let's do it."

The tension in the room increased a bit as Shepard turned up the music, slowly closed in on Tali and infiltrated her once again, starting round 2. At that moment, the memories of the night blacked out for the two of them.

As Tali and Shepard slept peacefully in bed, the two of them embracing each other's body warmth and love through their bare skin, they were unaware of the morning sun creeping it's way across the landscape. It eventually reached it's way to the Normandy and Tali's house. The sun creeped in underneath the door and made it's presence known, especially since the candles in the bedroom burned out during the night. After the sun shined underneath their door for an hour or two, Tali stirred in her sleep and woke up peacefully. Not only did Tali sleep very well, she had a very good night, having gone not just two or three, but four rounds with Shepard. Shepard and Tali were doing ok after the second round, but Shepard was nearly exhausted after the third round, and when he finished with the fourth round, collapsed on top of Tali, who was also quite drained, but not nearly as much as Shepard was.

Fortunately for Tali, Shepard laid off to the side, but still had a loose grip on her lovely body. As she gently slipped away from Shepard and got up, she noticed something wrong; she had a fever. "Oh no," she thought to herself, "I'm sick." However, what was strange about this was in a sense, she also felt better; Tali felt as if her eyes could perceve things better. It was a rather odd feeling. Tali proceeded to put her suit on, even though she wished she could just put on the clothes she wore with Shepard last night and be done with it. As she put on the last of her suit, she ran disinfecting procedures in it and administered anti-biotics to treat whatever she had. Once that was done, she went over to where the fridge was and took out some ingrediants to make Shepard a great breakfast; Katarian eggs, bacon and sausage links were on the menu for breakfast. Tali took the electric grill on top of the fridge as well as a few cooking utensils and went outside to cook some breakfast.

Tali fired up the electric grill and began cooking. This was the first time she ever tried cooking something outside of practice; before, she learned some tips on her pilgrimage, as well as from Mess Sargent Gardener and from a few videos she watched on how to cook things. Now, this time, she was doing the real thing. She cracked open the katarian eggs and stirred them with a wisk to make them nice and scrambled. In addition, she placed the bacon and sausage patties together, occasionally flipping them over or rotating them. She normally would put less food on the grill to cook, but with what Shepard went through last night, he probably needed a bit more nutrition than usual. After a few minutes, the food was ready, and Tali was confident Shepard would like it, as nothing was burned or smelled bad. Tali turned off the electric grill, put the eggs, sausage and bacon on a large plate with a fork, put a bit of pepper on the eggs and went back into the bedroom.

Shepard stirred a tiny bit a few moments earlier, but it wasn't until Tali walked into the bedroom that he finally woke up, seeing the sunlight of Rannoch briefly as the door opened and closed, smelling food and seeing the wonderful sight of Tali. Tali walked over to Shepard, grabbing a portable tray that Shepard failed to notice last night, and while setting up Shepard's bedside breakfast, started talking to him by saying,

"Hey Shepard."

"I love you, Tali." Shepard got up, using the blankets to give the lower part of his body some privacy, as he was still without his clothes.

"I love you too, hon."

As Tali put Shepard's plate on the tray, Shepard asked, "What's this?"

"I made you some breakfast." Tali pointed at Shepard's plate in places while saying, "Katarian eggs, bacon and sausage. I figured I'd sneak them in after getting them someplace."

"That's nice of you. I owe you a bedside breakfast."

"You don't have to worry about it. Especially with last night..."

Shepard was about to sink his teeth into the Katarian eggs when he stated, "What happened last night was great. Felt good to blow off some stress."

As Tali looked at Shepard's plate, she suddenly noticed she didn't give Shepard anything to drink! Tali felt slightly embarassed as she said, "Oh! Sorry if I didn't get you anything to drink Shepard. Would you like some milk or juice?"

"What kind of juice?"

"I think it's called, 'orange juice'."

"I'll have some milk." Shepard kept his tone friendly, as he didn't care too much for orange juice with breakfast. Tali went over to the fridge, took out a gallon of regular milk, as well as some paste for breakfast, poured the milk into a glass and presented it to Shepard. As she walked over to Shepard, she involuntarily let out a cough, and when Shepard heard that, he stopped eating and turned his attention to Tali. As Tali set the milk on his tray, he asked Tali,

"You ok?"

"I don't know, Shepard. I woke up this morning with a fever. The cough is new. But what's wierd is that I can see better, and im not sure why."

Shepard joked by saying, "You might want to have some of that orange juice. It's good for you."

"I'll be lucky not to throw it back up."

Shepard smiled and said, "Don't worry Tali. I'll be there for you. If there's anything I can do to help, you let me know."

"I'll get better Shepard. But if I need anything, I can trust you."

"Thanks, Tali."

Shepard went back to his breakfast, drinking his glass of ice cold milk and eating what was left of his hot breakfast. Tali joined in and had her nutrient paste as she sat down next to Shepard. They ate for a few minutes before finishing their breakfasts. When Tali finished her nutrient paste, she said,

"You might want to put some clothes on before you go outside, Shepard. That suit your wearing is just for me only, you know," Tali said, as she stroked a finger down Shepard's chest. Shepard replied with,

"Sure thing, Miss Vas Rannoch."

"Oh, that reminds me, when I spoke to Raan yesterday, they did offically change my name to Vas Rannoch now that im staying here. But you can call me whatever, Shepard. You know how names can be."

Shepard rummaged through the bed and the floor to find his full set of clothing, giving Tali a show in the process. As Shepard finished putting on the last of his clothing, he asked Tali,

"So, what are we up to today, Miss Vas Rannoch?"

"Well, we can either head down to the beach, or we can take a trip someplace."

"And where might that someplace be?"

"It's a major city that dates back to the morning war. They call it 'Varden', which translates to 'City of the sea'. Part of it actually extends underwater. Today, it's a big place, and one of a few places that we outsiders from the galaxy dock at. There's a lot there. We should see it."

"Now this I want to see. I take it we'll fly in by shuttle?"

"That's the plan."

"You ready to head out there?"

"Sure. The geth will be here at any moment anyways to keep building our house. Now's a perfect time."

"Alright, i'll let joker know and get us a shuttle to Varden." And with that, Shepard opened up the door, took a look at the sunrise on Rannoch and went over to the Normandy SR-2, Tali fallowing right behind him as she also looked at the beautiful Rannoch sunset.


End file.
